The weather in October and November could not have been more contrasting. This extreme situation recently led to considerable difficulties in harvesting carrots. In some German regions, this is still ongoing.
At the beginning of October, temperatures were unusually high. However, as the month progressed and into November, the weather was characterized by heavy rainfall. This delayed the harvest of carrots for intended for storage, as some of the fields were too wet for the heavy harvesting machines to drive on. The few carrots that could be harvested at this time also had considerably more wet soil adhering to them, which meant more work during processing.
Storage process delayed
The sudden onset of winter, with sub-zero temperatures, followed from November to December. Due to the delays caused by the rainfall, the remaining quantities of carrots in the fields at the onset of frost were still unusually high for this time of year. Although the storage of carrots has progressed since then, it is not yet complete in some regions. Carrots can cope with a few days with temperatures below freezing.
However, the longer period with sub-zero temperatures is too much for the vegetables. Many fields were covered with fleece afterwards. In the past, this was hardly possible due to the wetness of the fields. This now means additional effort to save the carrots. The exact extent of these extreme weather conditions cannot yet be determined. The situation developed very differently from region to region. The sudden onset of winter not only affected Germany, but also the Netherlands and Denmark, which are also important suppliers of carrots to Germany.
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