Europe’s heatwave in June cost grain farmers €2bn in lost revenue and crop damage

British farmers are also reporting dry conditions across much of the UK after the June heatwave, with East Anglia and parts of south-east England being hit the worst. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images View image in fullscreen British farmers are also reporting dry conditions across much of the UK after the June heatwave, with East Anglia and parts of south-east England being hit the worst. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Europe’s heatwave in June cost grain farmers €2bn in lost revenue and crop damage EU set for worst crop harvest in decade after total grain yield estimated to be 9m tonnes smaller than expected, analysis finds The heatwave that swept across Europe in June is estimated to have cost the continent’s grain farmers €2bn (£1.7bn) in lost revenue and destroyed 10m tonnes of crops, according to a new analysis, raising concern about the impact on food prices. The European harvest of crops including wheat, barley, maize and oats is now predicted to be 9m tonnes smaller than forecast before the June heatwave, according to Coceral, the European association which represents trade of cereals and oilseeds. This would see the 27 EU member states and the UK record their smallest harvest since 2018, and represents lost crop production larger than the combined total forecast grain production of Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands. Coceral have linked the crop losses to the intense heat that resulted in the hottest June on record in western Europe . Maize was impacted during the crucial pollination period, while wheat was affected during the time known as “grain fill”, when cereals need moisture to fill out, a key stage of development for crop yield. Based on current prices, the value of lost grain production is estimated by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank to be about €2bn, although this does not include wider costs of the heatwave, such as lost vegetable crops and livestock. Extreme heatwaves may cause global decline in dairy production, scientists warn Read more Tom Lancaster, the ECIU’s land, food and farming analyst, said: “This will hit farmers in the pockets, reducing their income and undermining European food security at the same time. In the UK we have already seen three of the five worst harvests on record this decade, and recent heatwaves here will inevitably have cost British farmers again.” France is expected to suffer reductions in grain production, where an estimated 3.4m tonnes of maize has been lost, with the cost of lost grains expected to reach €891m. The next biggest grain losses are expected in Hungary (2.4m tonnes) and Spain (1.4m tonnes). Benoît Merlo, a farmer in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, said a decade of adapting his farm to hotter and drier conditions had not helped this year: “With temperatures exceeding 38C for weeks on end, everything is breaking down. I’m expecting yield losses of at least 50%, or even 70%, for certain crops, such as soya.” British farmers are reporting dry