More than a week of persistent rain and unusually cool weather has begun to worry Lithuanian farmers, who say the conditions are disrupting harvesting and increasing the risk of crop losses, although they stress the situation has not yet reached a critical point.
While some strawberry growers report that berries are rotting in the fields, others have largely avoided losses after harvesting early varieties before the heavy rains. Farmers also say excessive rainfall has flattened grass, making hay production difficult, and fear cereal crops could suffer the same fate if wet conditions continue.
According to farmers, heavy rain has compounded damage caused earlier this season by late spring frosts. Blossoms, buds and developing fruit have been knocked off plants, while some grain heads have also been damaged. Growers warn that prolonged rainfall and standing water in fields could lead to rot in root crops.
Brigita Mosiejauskė, chair of the Lithuanian Organic Farms Association, said crops are now suffering from a lack of warmth after an uneven growing season marked by both heat and excessive rainfall.
“Rainfall and warmth have been distributed very unevenly – there has been too much rain and too little heat,” she said.
