Storm's impact on crops will become clear in about a week, farmers say
Farmers' association “Zemnieku saeima” head Juris Lazdiņš says the full effect of the weekend storm and heavy rain on fields will only be assessed in about a week, while the wet weather may boost fusarium spread in cereal crops.
The powerful storm that swept across Latvia over the weekend has also affected agricultural fields, but the full picture of the damage to crops will only emerge in roughly a week, Juris Lazdiņš, chairman of the farmers' association “Zemnieku saeima,” told the LETA news agency.
He said information on storm damage to farms is still being gathered, since farmers can only properly assess the situation in daylight. It is already known that a generator at one farm temporarily stopped working but was fixed by the farm's own staff. In some places, wind also damaged agricultural machinery.
Lazdiņš noted that the storm and heavy rain will have uneven effects across fields — in some areas crops have been flattened (lodged), while elsewhere there is no damage at all. Some fields have also flooded, though farms with well-maintained drainage systems should avoid serious problems.
Fusarium concerns
Winter rapeseed has already been sown this season, and whether it will survive the recent weather will only be clear after about a week. Regarding cereal crops, Lazdiņš warned that the damp conditions will accelerate the spread of fusarium fungal infection. In regions such as Sēlija and Vidzeme, where the problem was already observed two weeks ago, the infection is likely to spread further. The quality of the eventual harvest will only become apparent later.
Lazdiņš also pointed out that grain-drying costs will rise because the harvest will be wetter than usual. The situation is complicated by the fact that many drying facilities are currently out of operation due to power outages.
Power outages disrupting supply
According to Lazdiņš, Ogre municipality currently has no electricity or communications at all, raising uncertainty about deliveries of goods, including vegetables, to stores, since it is unclear how large the reserves in warehouses are. He also noted that it is currently impossible to reach the 112 emergency line, as dispatchers are not answering, while rescue teams are not deploying without operational information.
As previously reported, a very powerful storm swept across Latvia on Saturday evening and into Sunday night, leaving more than a quarter of a million households without electricity.
