Flood and harvest: beet farmers fight in Tullnerfeld

Flood and harvest: beet farmers fight in Tullnerfeld

The agricultural landscape in the Tullnerfeld region faces serious challenges, since the two sugar factories in Tulln and Leopoldsdorf had already had to raise their production. The harvest was originally supposed to start in the last week of September, but these plans were postponed due to violent precipitation. According to Markus Schöberl, the managing director of the association "The beet farmers", the vegetation time was already shaped by difficulties, and the coming harvest time will not be easier.

At the beginning of the vegetation period, the rain had promised promising yields by July. But the extreme drought and heat during the summer pressed expectations for an average crop result. The massive rains in mid -September caused serious damage in the St. Pölten and Tulln area. The exact scope of this damage is still unclear, but at least 500 hectares of sugar beet surfaces have already been completely destroyed by floods. In addition, beets are rotten on other surfaces, which means that they cannot be stored or processed.

Currently, farmers are trying to harvest the sugar beets to supply the sugar factories in Tulln and Leopoldsdorf with sufficient raw material. An additional problem is the raw material supply from Upper Austria, since the infrastructures have been impaired by the flood. Alternative routes are used, but the transport capacities have not yet been fully observed. Despite these difficulties, the sugar beet harvest in 2024 will deliver moderate yields, but with a clear difference between the western and eastern regions.

The processing of the sugar beet is expected to continue until the end of January of the coming year. Comprehensive details on these developments can be found in an article by bauernzeitung.at