Do purchasers not make life easier for farmers during this difficult harvest?

Skupy nie ułatwiają rolnikom życia w te trudne żniwa?

Did the harvest surprise purchasers?

Leaving aside the issue of this year's prices for agricultural produce at purchasing points, many agricultural producers are surprised by the organization of work at purchasing points, or rather its lack thereof. As is widely known, in 2024 the harvest began and will end exceptionally early compared to the traditional dates adopted for years. However, we have been preparing for the early harvest for several months, observing the accelerated pace of crop development. At the beginning of July, barley and rapeseed were already disappearing from the fields in Greater Poland, and in the meantime, many purchasers still lacked price lists or information about the opening of purchases. The last data on the websites came from the 2023 harvest. Attempts to contact purchasing representatives by phone were also unsuccessful. It seemed, therefore, that just as "winter surprises road workers" sometimes, "the harvest surprised purchasers."

Eventually, however, the purchase of rapeseed and grain began in earnest. However, harvest in many parts of Poland, including Greater Poland, is difficult, especially due to the weather. Horrible harvests gradually deteriorate the quality of grain, and field by field farmers "steal" grain from the field. This situation requires appropriate support for farmers from purchasers, but unfortunately this is not the rule this year.

Less, worse and cheaper. The 2024 harvest is extremely difficult

Shopping centers have their own rules?

When talking about the situation in purchasing markets, farmers often talk about "ordeal" and "mockery of farmers." Producers not only have to compete with the weather, but also with the workload. On many farms, grain harvests and haymaking coincided at the same time. To this you can add straw baling, stubble cultivation and other field work. Once there is a weather window without rain, a harvester is not always immediately available, because often there are only a few service providers available for one commune and several dozen hosts. Due to the multitude of tasks to be performed, farmers still have to "stand their ground" in a long queue to the purchasing office. Of course, queues during harvest are normal, but according to farmers' reports, at some points even bizarre situations occur, and instead of making the work of busy farmers easier, the purchase adds further difficulties.

– I stood in the queue to the shopping center in the evening and weighed it the next morning. This completely blocked the work I had planned on the farm. When should we bring hay here and when should we milk the cows? In addition, at the point I encountered total "olewka" for farmers who give away their crops for "dogs' money". Nothing but sit down and cry – says one of the farmers from the province in an interview with the website farmer.pl. Greater Poland.

The situation is not made easier by the fact that many harvest shops are closed on Sunday and only for a few hours on Saturday. Meanwhile, last weekend was in many places one of the few opportunities to collect grain between one rain and another. So what if the trailers are blocked, the harvesters have to move on, and you can only come to the collection center on Monday? We would like to remind you that the Sunday trading ban does not apply to establishments purchasing agricultural produce. Of course, as private companies, purchasing stores can set their opening hours freely, but it is worth remembering that harvest is a special time of the year and farmers will appreciate any improvement in their work during this period.