Ģirts Ozols, head of the agricultural department of the “Latraps” co-op, said that although there are individual farmers who have started harvesting earlier varieties, harvesting has not started altogether. Ozols indicated that cereals are ready for harvesting, and forecast that more intensive harvesting could begin Saturday or Sunday, when drier weather is forecast.
He said that the quality of the harvest would not be affected by rain and that rot should not have formed. Meanwhile, the rain forecast for next week could hamper harvesting more, Ozols added.
The co-op VAKS board chairman Indulis Jansons also told LETA that farmers are worried about the prospect of rainy weather in the future, as additional harvesting costs, including drying costs, should be taken into account.
He explained that farmers, after the hot May, had hoped to start harvesting jobs more quickly, but they have stalled. Winter barley is harvested in some places and wheat will also be harvested in the near future.
Jansons also stressed that farmers hope to sell the grain at "half-normal" prices. Prices are not favorable at the moment.
He also added that this certainly won't be the best harvest year and the first crop estimates show that yields will be moderate.
