Here in Normandy it doesn't feel as though there is going to be a global shortage of grain. The wheat harvest is all but finished and it looks as plentiful as ever.
This is a field of wheat near Vire two weeks ago.
And here is the same field a few days later, the wheat harvested and the huge round straw bales are waiting to be moved away for storage.
In the year to June 2011, the country yielded about 37.14 million tons of soft wheat and exported a record 12.8 million tons. Traders now estimate the drought could cut that exportable surplus to just 5 million tons in 2011-12.
The French government has taken a series of measures to support French farmers through the drought. The government will tap an existing relief fund to aid livestock farmers, worth between €90 million and €100 million, though compensation may total several hundred millions of euros at the end of the season. The government will make up the difference, [Agriculture Minister] Mr. Le Maire said. The government is also working out other aid measures to limit prices for straw and other food items for livestock.
Photos by ©A.Anichkin
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