February frosts pose threat to some West European crops

Grain and oilseed crops in western Europe are set to face February frosts with a lack of snow cover in some areas, particularly eastern Germany, but no significant damage has yet been reported, analysts said on Tuesday. One analyst said the main concern was about eastern German rapeseed crops. No major snow is forecast for Germany this week.
"The lack of snow cover means the danger from frost remains," the analyst said. "February frosts are traditionally the coldest." Germany is the European Union's leading rapeseed grower and second largest wheat producer after France.
"We have seen frosts as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) in past days which is generating worry about rapeseed and grains being damaged," another German analyst said. "It must be stressed that no actual damage has been reported but this will take some more time to assess."
Germany's largest trading house Toepfer International currently estimates the German 2011 rapeseed crop at 5.5 to 5.8 million tonnes against 5.7 million tonnes in 2010. Toepfer estimates the German 2011 wheat crop in a wide range between 24.5 to 25.5 million tonnes but up from the 24 million tonnes harvested in 2010.
In the EU's second-largest rapeseed producer, France, crops did not suffer too much from the severe cold snap in December, thanks to a snow cover that protected most fields. "We do not hear any concern about the cold. The only worry may be about the excessive water in locally flooded regions but nothing alarming," said Fabien Lagarde of French oilseed technical institute Cetiom.
He stressed that rapeseed plants can support temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius without snow cover. In December, in its first estimate for the 2011/2012 harvest, the farm ministry estimated the French winter rapeseed area would rise 1.3 percent from 2010/2011 to 1.5 million hectares.
Nearly the entire French rapeseed crop is winter rapeseed. Grain crops in France were developing well although several cold snaps and heavy rainfall may have cause local damage. French analyst Strategie Grains pegs the total grain harvest at 68.3 million tonnes, up nearly 5 percent on year, with a rise of 6 percent for soft wheat at 37.81 million tonnes.
Overall the analyst sees the European Union's soft wheat crop gain nearly 2 percent at 23.3 million tonnes. There has been concern about possible damage to Britain's rapeseed crop, particularly in areas where plantings were a bit late, but the overall impact is not expected to be significant.
Crops in Britain were generally well established prior to cold snaps while rapeseed areas seen up about three to five percent and wheat by around one to two percent. "There was some concern over the cold weather but generally it is to quite good for us as it keeps disease at bay," said Jack Watts, analyst with the Home-Grown Cereals Authority. Spanish farmers said sub-zero temperatures currently affecting much of the major grain importer were not unusual at this time of year or a cause for concern over the winter wheat and barley crop.