Dry weather lifts Swedish grain, oilseed planting

25 Nov, 2005

Sweden's autumn sowings of cereals and oilseeds rose sharply this year after a dry August and September let farmers harvest early and raise the area under cultivation, the agriculture board said on Thursday.
Farmers planted cereals and oilseeds on 470,000 hectares during the autumn, a 10 percent rise from last year and 5 percent above the average of the past five years, it said.
Planting of wheat rose 7 percent year-on-year to an estimated 332,000 hectares, in line with the five-year average.
Wheat has made up almost 40 percent of Sweden's grains harvest in recent years. Other big crops are barley and oats.
Cultivation of autumn rapeseed amounted to some 50,000 hectares, a rise of 42 percent from last year and 62 percent above the average over the past five years.
"Interest in the crop has increased and opportunities for planting this year have been favourable in large parts of the country," the agriculture board said in a statement.

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