Czech farmers fear crop losses as nation-wide drought worsens. Soil drought down to a depth of one meter began to develop gradually in March and deepened significantly in April, when temperatures rose and awakening vegetation started consuming water

An extremely dry April is beginning to take its toll on vegetation. A lack of moisture is threatening agricultural crops in two-thirds of Czechia and farmers fear a poor harvest if rain does not come soon.

At the edge of a field near a small town of Telč (Morava region), it is impossible not to notice that the green shoots of grain are growing rather sparsely. A closer look at the soil reveals it is very light in color. As you walk, dust rises from underfoot – the soil resembles powder more than earth.

“It hasn’t really rained for a month and a half. I don’t count four millimeters as rain – that’s just a slight dampening,” complains Jindřich Pospíchal, head of the local agricultural cooperative.

“At this point, we’re waiting for rain like for mercy. If it rains within ten days, the consequences might not be so severe. It’s mainly about yields, of course, but we also grow malting barely – and there, quality matters too,” Pospíchal warns.

The seriousness of the situation was also confirmed by bioclimatologist and chief coordinator of the InterSucho portal, Miroslav Trnka.