Lleida has started its cereal harvest early this year, with high temperatures bringing the campaign forward by about a week. In dryland areas such as Alfés, farmers began cutting on 20 May and say the first results are good.
Work is being done from mid-morning into the hottest part of the day to avoid humidity problems during collection. Barley is being harvested first, followed later by wheat and triticale, according to Josep Ignasi Molló, manager of the Alfés Cooperative.
Molló said the later crops could see a slight drop in production because of the heat in April, but the first barley loads have not shown that problem. He said yields are strong, above 4,500 kilograms per hectare, helped by winter and spring rainfall. Prices are holding at about €200 per tonne, with no clear effect from the conflict in the Middle East, he added.
The harvest is expected to continue until mid-July. After the dryland fields, attention will move to irrigated crops, where yields are usually higher, between 6,500 and 7,500 kilograms per hectare. Pere Roqué, president of Asaja in Lleida, said the heat in May is a concern for these crops because the cereal is still green and high temperatures could shock the grain.
Roqué also said some areas are likely to see lower production again because of the rabbit plague affecting much of the Ponent region. The animals are eating young cereal plants and stopping them from developing properly. For more local farming coverage, see our news page.
