“The yield is smaller than expected,” stated Jürgen Kopf, Manager of the asparagus farm Kyhna near Leipzig. Although, the season has to end first. But Kopf expects a 15% lower yield compared to last year. The rain, which partially flooded the fields, impeded the growth of the precious vegetables.
Usually the asparagus season ends Midsummer, the 24th of June. However, since the season started later this year, a few farms are supplying the asparagus for a few more days.
Negative influence of the weather
Asparagus farmers in Hessen also fear the worst yield in a long time after the heavy rainfall. According to the farmers association the harvest will be 20% to 25% lower than 2015. The yield will barely reach 8,000 metric tons. ”That is a negative outlier,” stated the spokesperson Bernd Weber in Friedrichsdorf/Taunus. “The weather had a negative influence.” In 2015 the harvest was around 10,000 metric tons.
It was not only too wet for asparagus it was also too cold. And not only for the asparagus; “If it is too cold consumers don’t have an appetite for real spring vegetables,” stated Rolf Meinhardt, chair of the Asparagus Group Sudhessen in Weiterstadt.
In Hessen asparagus are cultivated on approximately 1,780 hectares and about 1,715 hectares are situated around Darmstadt. This region is the center of asparagus cultivation in the state.
This year the asparagus harvest in Rheinland-Pfalz will probably be significantly lower than in 2015. This is due to the wet and cold days. "The asparagus is a sun lover," stated Frieder Zimmermann, spokesperson for the Chamber of Agriculture in Bad Kreuznach. "And all the rain didn’t help either." He estimates that the total harvest will remain significantly below the approximately 6,500 metric tons of last year. However, a final assessment can’t be made yet.
According to the Farmers and Winegrowers Association Rheinland-Pfalz South, situated in Mainz, the yield fluctuates per region and per farm. While some farmers have harvested about as much asparagus as 2015, in other cases the harvest was noticeably lower, claimed the spokesperson for the association, Andrea.
