Gross crop harvest is the total volume of agricultural production harvested, which can be calculated for one specific crop or for a specific group of crops. The term has been used since 1954. The measure of measurement is natural units. A synonym for this concept is gross agricultural output.
Gross harvest of grain crops is one of the types of gross harvest of agricultural crops. It directly depends on the crop, being, in fact, its equivalent.
What are cereals?
Cereals are one of the most important types of crops for humans. They play a major role in providing humanity with food, and the areas they occupy are maximum compared to those of other groups of agricultural crops. In addition to food, alcohol and other organic substances are produced from grain, including those used for the production of biofuels. The third purpose of cereals is the production of pet food.
Allgrain crops are divided into grain and leguminous crops. The former belong to the cereal family and include such species as wheat, rice, oats, corn, rye, millet and other crops less known in our country. The exception is buckwheat, which belongs to the buckwheat family.
Grain legumes belong to the botanical legume family. In some cases, only cereals are meant by cereals. Wheat, rice, barley, oats, corn and buckwheat are considered the main types of cereals.
The main grain exporting countries are the USA, Russia, Argentina, the European Union, Canada, Australia. They account for over 85% of the total volume of world grain exports. The main grain consuming countries are China, Turkey, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Considering China's agricultural potential, it could be an important exporter of various agricultural products, but due to its high population, it is forced to buy it instead.
Corn, wheat and rice together provide 43 percent of the world's total calories.
Gross grain harvest and harvest
Cereal yield is the total volume (or mass) of grain ripened in the fields. Except for losses during harvesting the fields, the gross grain harvest is equal to the harvest. Under adverse weather conditions, due to large losses, it can be significantly less than the crop. However, the calculation of the yield value is carried out precisely according to the gross harvest. Since it is quite difficult to calculate the lost grain. When they say that such and such a crop was harvested,imply the gross harvest.
What is yield?
Under the yield of grain crops understand the mass (or volume) of ripe grain per unit area (usually 1 ha) of agricultural land. There are several types of yield:
- Targeted yield is the average amount of grain production that can be obtained from 1 hectare under current conditions.
- Potential yield is the maximum amount of grain that can be obtained from one hectare under favorable conditions.
- Expected yield is a rough estimate of the future crop (gross yield) harvested from 1 hectare of sown area.
- Actual yield is the average weight (volume) of grain obtained from 1 hectare of sown area.
- Standing yield is the entire mass of grain grown on one hectare of sown area. It is determined by collecting all the grain from a certain area before harvesting, or by other methods. Allows you to estimate the amount of losses that occur during the harvest.
Harvesting means a set of agricultural work to remove ripe grain from agricultural fields. It belongs to the final stage of growing a crop. Over time, the degree of mechanization in harvesting has increased.
Dynamics of grain harvest and yield over the past 100 years
Yields and total gross crop yields in Russia do not change quite the same way. Let's look at the dynamics in more detail. Before World War II, the yieldand gross harvest remained unchanged, experiencing only local fluctuations. Then a rapid rise in both indicators began. Since 1970, the gross harvest has ceased to increase, while the yield has continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace. This indicates the beginning of the reduction of agricultural areas.
In the 90s, the gross harvest fell sharply. Yields have fallen to a lesser extent. In the 2000s, the gross harvest increased slightly, never reaching the level of the 70s and 80s, but the yield increased sharply. This picture suggests that in the 1990s, the reduction in area was combined with a decrease in yields, which indicates a total decline in agriculture. In the 2000s, the reduction in sown area continued, but a sharp increase in yields more than compensated for this effect.
What wheat harvest is expected in 2018?
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the gross harvest of wheat in 2018 will be 64.4 million tons, and the total grain harvest will be 100 million tons. At the same time, due to weather conditions, the total loss of grain mass will be at the level of 30 million tons. Such data was reported by a representative of the ministry to the TASS agency.
Reasons for the decline in the harvest in 2018
Unfavorable weather conditions (especially drought) are the main reason for the lower forecasts for the 2018 gross grain harvest. The subjects of the Russian Federation most affected by the drought are the Republic of Crimea, the Volgograd Region, the Chechen Republic, as well as Altai andKalmykia. Also, an emergency regime due to a lack of soil moisture can be introduced in the Rostov and Astrakhan regions, to a lesser extent - in the Saratov and Samara regions, as well as in some places on the territory of the Stavropol and Krasnodar territories and the Republic of Adygea.
In other areas, waterlogged soils pose a risk to crops. These regions are: Arkhangelsk Region, Yakutia, Altai Territory, Novosibirsk Region, Tomsk, Omsk and Kemerovo Regions, as well as the Trans-Baikal Territory.
Difficult situation with the harvest due to heavy rainfall observed in the Sverdlovsk, Kurgan and Tyumen regions. Here, a shift in the sowing dates of crops by about 2.5 weeks is expected. According to the ministry, all this can also lead to a decrease in the harvest.
At the same time, the total gross grain harvest in 2017 was a record and amounted to 135.4 million tons, of which wheat accounted for 85.9 million tons. Annual grain exports reached 52.4 million tons.
