PARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) – French farmers had harvested 73 percent of this year’s grain maize crop by Nov. 25, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday, as adverse weather continued to slow progress.
In weekly data published on its website, the office said harvest progress in the European Union’s top maize grower had increased only slightly from 67 percent the prior week, showing that field work was still affected by wet conditions in France.
A year ago, the maize harvest was 98 percent done.
Autumn rain in France has added to crop delays after a cold, wet spring put maize behind its usual growth rate, and concerns are mounting about potential quality damage due to excessive rainfall.
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The latter stages of wheat sowing in France have also been hampered by wet conditions.
As of Monday, farmers had sown soft wheat on 91 percent of the planned area, up slightly from 88 percent the previous week and below the year-earlier level of 95 percent, the FranceAgriMer data showed.
Crops on 84 percent of the planned area had emerged, up from 80 percent the previous week and 80 percent a year ago.
Some 33 percent of wheat had entered the tillering stage, up from 26 percent the prior week and 13 percent a year earlier, the data showed.
Durum wheat sowings are also running late, at 66 percent against 83 percent a year before, but winter barley sowings are now 99 percent completed in France.
