September 11, 2013

French farmers plan to sow 1.5 million hectares of rapeseed

About 100,000 hectares of the area, which were initially intended for rapeseed cultivation, were abandoned by farmers due to adverse weather conditions and a succession of problems during growth. The latter had led to further losses of over 50,000 hectares, said Fabien Lagarde from Cetiom, a oilseed growers' technical institute. These have discouraged many farmers who decided to favour grains such as wheat for the next harvest.

"Cereals had better yields than rapeseed this season and the price differential was in favour of cereals so farmers decided to sow more," he added. Lagarde believed that if rainfall comes over the weekend, as forecast, the 1.5 million hectares should be sown and well rooted enough to begin growth. Rapeseed sowing is almost complete in north-east France and is under way in other regions.