Forecast: Henrik will get 20 percent less autumn harvest

Swedish farmers are bracing for a significantly smaller autumn harvest, with projections indicating a 20% reduction compared to last year. Wheat prices are expected to increase as a result, according to reports from Dagens Nyheter. Farmer Henrik Schmiterlöw, who operates two grain farms totaling 360 hectares, described large barren patches in his wheat fields.

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It is always sad. The whole of this field has several such gaps. Looking out over the field, you see dips. There is one, on the height over there there are gaps and over there too.

Schmiterlöw explained that the cold winter severely impacted parts of the autumn wheat crop, leading to "winter kill," fungal infections, and frost damage early in the year. He noted that in some areas, the density of wheat stalks per square meter has fallen drastically, from a desired 600-800 to around 200. This reduction in yield is expected to affect approximately 20% of his autumn wheat crop.

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In the autumn it looked very nice here. But now it has winter-killed. When it winter-kills, it dies. It is fungal infections, snow mold and frost damage that came at the beginning of the year.

In addition to the winter's harsh effects, drought has impacted the autumn harvest in regions like Gotland and parts of Skåne. Lantmännen, a major agricultural cooperative, forecasts a national decrease of 1.4 million tons of grain, bringing the total harvest down to 5 million tons from last year's record of 6.4 million tons. This 20% drop is attributed to both the reduced wheat yield and other factors. Per Germundsson, grain manager at Lantmännen, stated that the lower domestic harvest will likely lead to higher local wheat prices as the country aims to retain grain supplies. Wheat is a key ingredient for bread, pasta, vodka, and animal feed, though Germundsson could not confirm if pasta prices would rise for consumers, citing the many factors influencing final food prices.

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Here there are around 200 ears per square meter. To get a normal harvest, we want around 600 to 800 per square meter.