Volga Baikal AGRO NEWS Update on the WEATHER FORECAST in RUSSIA !!!

Volga Baikal AGRO NEWS Update on the WEATHER FORECAST in RUSSIA !!!

How abnormal weather conditions will affect the yield of forage crops.

Forecasters predict that the snow melting will begin in the second decade of April, which is 1-2 weeks later than usual. At the same time, the second half of April and May will be warm. The forecast weather conditions may shift the spring sowing to a later date.

If the snow melting happens one or two weeks later than usual, nothing critical will happen, – says the director of the analytical center “SovEcon” Andrey Sizov. However, he emphasizes, taking into account the fact that some farmers, due to export restrictions, plan to revise the crop rotation during the spring sowing season, the later onset of spring may limit them in terms of choosing crops for sowing due to the shortened period of the vegetation.

– The current weather conditions can really negatively affect the winter crops. Let me remind you that even in the fall, during the sowing of winter crops, it was very dry, as a result, the plants entered the winter in the worst condition for the last ten years. In January, the situation improved, precipitation passed, which created a resource for replenishing moisture reserves and protected crops from cold weather. But in February, the situation worsens. In the south of the Central Chernozem Region, in the Lower Volga Region, as well as in the Rostov, Voronezh and Volgograd regions, there was a very weak snow cover in places and at the same time there was a significant decrease in temperatures,” – Sizov adds. And recently in the South there was, on the contrary, abnormally warm weather – up to +15 degrees, because of which the vegetation of winter crops resumed. This is quite a negative factor, since the plants began to spend their resource ahead of time. Then the temperatures dropped back to minus 15 – 20 degrees. In some places, an ice crust formed on the fields. Taking into account the cold front that may reach these regions, the scenario of loss of winter crops may become quite likely.

“All these factors and conditions allow us to predict an average level of the yield,” – says Elena Tyurina, Director of the Analytics Department of the Russian Grain Union.

According to the Russian Grain Union, the condition of winter crops in the South and in the Center of Russia is currently satisfactory.

Source: Milknews.ru