Bavaria grain harvest expected to drop significantly due to drought

The grain harvest in Bavaria is projected to drop significantly in 2026 due to prolonged heatwaves and drought. According to estimates from the Bavarian State Office for Statistics, the total grain harvest (excluding grain maize and corn-cob mix) is expected to reach approximately 5.6 million tonnes. This represents a 12.7 percent decrease compared to the 2025 harvest of roughly 6.4 million tonnes.

This decline places the current harvest among the three worst in the last three decades, surpassed only by 2024 and the extreme summer of 2003. Winter wheat, the region's most important grain, is particularly affected; its expected yield is projected to fall by nearly 22.9 percent compared to the previous summer, totaling 2.9 million tonnes.

Other crops are also seeing reductions, with winter barley yields expected to drop by 7.7 percent compared to 2025. Additionally, the total area used for grain cultivation has decreased by approximately 4 percent compared to the average of the last five years.