Precipitation situation: bad weather may disrupt the sowing of spring crops
The timing of the sowing of spring crops in Russia — barley, peas, wheat and other crops — may shift up to three weeks. This creates risks for crop reduction, industry representatives told Izvestia. According to them, farmers will be forced to abandon the sowing of some crops. The problem is recognized in the Ministry of Agriculture. According to the agency, out of 56 million hectares, only 4 million have been sown. Agrarians note that this is the first time such weather has been observed in April over the past 39 years.
How snow and rain can affect future crops
Farmers are concerned about the prolonged cold spring, which may affect the reduction of the harvest of spring crops. As the producers told Izvestia, due to snow and rain, the sowing campaign has already been delayed for several weeks in some regions of Russia.
— The work is going on with at least a two-week delay, in a number of regions due to abnormal precipitation, waterlogging of the soil is noted. During the May holidays, Russians usually started planting potatoes, but this season it is not recommended to do this, because the optimal soil temperature for planting should be at least 8 degrees, otherwise such potatoes will not yield," Alexey Krasilnikov, executive director of the Potato Union, told Izvestia.
According to him, an unfavorable weather situation is developing in a number of subjects of the Central Federal District, however, for example, in the Bryansk region, as in many southern regions, early potato varieties have already begun to be planted, and by the end of last week about 10% of the area had already been sown.
— It is difficult to predict how the situation will develop further, we hope that the early Russian vegetable will be available in early July, — said Alexey Krasilnikov.
According to Yevgeny Podshebyakin, head of the Association of Peasant (Farmer) Farms and Agricultural Cooperatives of Russia (AKKOR) in the Tula region, the lack of positive temperatures, as well as high soil moisture, which is currently impossible to work in, prevents the start of sowing.
— There are certainly risks to the harvest. And they are not only related to precipitation. If the warm weather comes on abruptly, the land will be over—dried, late sowing will be unfavorable and this will affect the quality of the future harvest," he told Izvestia.
According to him, there are crops such as soybeans and buckwheat that are sown late. If by that time there is little moisture left in the ground, then they may not yield a high yield.
— The last similar spring with such unfavorable conditions, when it snowed in April, was in 1987, that is, 39 years ago. Now there are difficulties in almost all regions of Central Russia and even in the Volga region. Today, the sowing campaign is delayed by more than two weeks, about almost 20 days," Nikita Tokmakov, a farmer from Voronezh, told Izvestia.
According to him, the work is hampered by cold and moisture.
— Now we no longer have time to plant early spring crops — barley, peas, wheat. With the onset of good weather, we will be faced with a choice: to plant them or late spring crops — corn, sunflower, soybeans. Everyone will solve this problem on their own, but already farmers agree that we will not sow so many early spring crops, there will be more late ones," the expert explained.
He also drew attention to the fact that the later the crops are sown, the later they will be harvested, since the plants will need to go through their own vegetation path depending on the variety.
— And here there is another risk in the form of a rainy autumn. This is exactly how it was last year in the Central Chernozem region, so not everyone could even be removed from the fields," the agrarian noted, not ruling out a repeat of the weather scenario.
The governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev, announced the delay of the sowing campaign due to the cold weather in his blog on the Maks messenger, noting that the timing for its implementation would be more concise.
"There is indeed a delay in the sowing campaign, but it occurs due to the large amount of precipitation and moisture in the soil," Vladimir Plotnikov, president of AKKOR and first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, all farmers are now in a high stage of readiness to start work as soon as the weather permits. But this year the winter crops are very good and this is an encouraging factor, the industry representative added.
Seasonal risks
The problem is also recognized in the Ministry of Agriculture. On April 22, the head of the department Oksana Lut reported that due to weather conditions, the dynamics of spring sowing is now lower than last year.
— The backlog is still serious due to bad weather. But there's nothing to worry about, the seasons are different," Oksana Lut said, without making forecasts for the harvest. — We haven't even sowed yet, there is no forecast, but everything will be fine.
Spring sowing has currently been carried out on an area of about 4 million hectares and is lagging behind the level of last year, due to heavy rainfall and cold weather in the Central Belt, the Volga region and some southern regions, the ministry said.
— With the normalization of weather conditions, farmers will increase the pace of work. In total, about 56 million hectares are planned to be allocated for spring crops this year, and the total sown area will increase to 83 million hectares, the press service of the department told Izvestia.
At the same time, they noted that 97% of winter crops are in good and satisfactory condition. This is noticeably higher than in 2025, when the figure was 90.2% on the same date.
The Ministry of Agriculture also reported that the weather conditions that have developed in a number of regions will not have a significant impact on the condition of other crops. The crops most affected by frost, such as sugar beet, have not yet been sown in regions that have experienced adverse weather, and fruit trees have not yet entered the flowering phase.
— After the low-snow winters of previous years, significant snow cover has formed in the fields this season. The longer snowmelt has led to a shift in the timing of the start of field work in the regions of the Central and Volga Federal Districts, which account for about 46% of the planned area of sowing of spring crops. At the same time, this factor will have a positive impact on the moisture supply of the future crop," said Ksenia Bolomatova, Executive Director of the Union of Grain Exporters and Producers.
According to her, in the key regions of cultivation this season, there have not been such strong or prolonged negative temperatures that could lead to significant damage. Only isolated local losses are possible, but in general, overwintering conditions are assessed as favorable, the industry representative assessed the situation with winter crops.
The People's Farmer Association called the situation a working one.
—Farmers are well aware of seasonal risks and are able to adjust to the weather: in some cases they adjust the pace of work, in others they quickly change technological solutions, choose the optimal time to enter the field, taking into account the condition of the soil and crops," Stanislav Sankeev, the executive director of the organization, told Izvestia.
According to him, it is premature to talk about problems, but the final result will depend on the whole season: temperatures, precipitation, plant development, and the quality of crop care.
The biggest delay in sowing today is in the south of the Central Federal District and in the Volga Federal District, but it also exists in other territories, said former Deputy Minister of Agriculture Leonid Kholod. Approximately 4 million hectares have been sown, although last year the pace was twice as high. At the same time, according to him, if we are talking about a two-week delay in sowing, then this is not critical, everything will depend on further weather conditions. If by the end of the week, for example, the weather in the Moscow region is warm, then in a few days you can start sowing, and with a hot summer and a favorable autumn, the plant will gain growth speed.
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