After a difficult year and months of rain, thethis year's harvest is characterized by its very high heterogeneity and disappointing yields.
©Guillaume Czerw
An atypical harvest: general information
From sowing to harvest, winter crops were impacted/penalized by very regular rainfall across most of France.
Many wheat fields could not be sown in the fall due to excess water, mainly on the Atlantic coast. As a result, the French wheat area for the 2024 harvest stands at 4.2 million hectares, according to market consensus (an 11% decrease in acreage compared to last year). Almost continuous rainfall throughout the growing season led to high disease and weed pressure, putting pressure on yields. During the grain filling phase in June, the lack of sunshine and low temperatures also had a negative impact on yields. Finally, the rains continued during the harvest period, affecting wheat yields and quality.
Across the various French production areas, we can report an overall decline in yield of between 10% and 30%. In terms of both yield and quality, this harvest is therefore proving to be uneven depending on harvest dates, soil types, and terroirs.
In Europe, the harvest is below normal, mainly due to declining production in France and Germany.
Globally, wheat production is generally good. Production in the United States is very satisfactory (54 million tons, up 4 million tons from last year), and production in Russia is ultimately acceptable (around 85 million tons) after fears in the spring due to late frosts.
EProduction and yield estimates:
• French production: 25.5MT vs. 35.1MT last year vs. 34.5MT on average over five years.
• French yield: 6.1 tons/hectare vs. 7.35 tons/hectare last year vs. 7.28 tons/hectare on average over five years.
• EU-27 yield: +-5.6 T/ha vs. 5.85 T/ha last year vs. 5.9 T/ha on average over 5 years.
CCharacteristics of wheat in the VIVESCIA harvest area:
• Protein content: average >11%
• Hagberg falling number: >220s.
Because farmers are the best people to talk about it, read the testimony of Alexandre, a VIVESCIA farmer-cooperator in Aube, who shares his experience with us:
2024 regional harvest letters: keeping our customers informed as accurately as possible
Every year, Grands Moulins de Paris publishes regional harvest reports that take into account the specific characteristics of the wheat that will supply each of our mills.
These letters contain advice from our specialists for all our artisan baker customers to help them adapt to these specificities. This information is backed up with local details, which are all the more necessary in a context of heterogeneous harvests. To provide verified and summarized information regarding the heterogeneity of the harvests, we take the time in each of our mills to carry out all the necessary tests.
Once the wheat is in our mills, what happens next?
While we wait to share these regional harvest letters with you soon, we invite you to dive into the heart of the process with testimonials from employees working on the new harvest.
Meetings with:
Christophe Ridel, wheat receiver at the Brienne mill
“My job is to receive the wheat that will be used at the mill. A sample is taken from each skip that arrives on site. I check the quality of the sampled wheat to validate its compliance through various checks: moisture content, protein, specific weight, impurities, etc. In risky years, I can also analyze the Hagberg falling numberg to check the germination rate of the wheat grains. If all my analyses are satisfactory, I authorize the driver to empty his wheat into the pit.
The harvest and arrival of new wheat is a key moment for us at the mill. Wheat varies in quality from year to year. It is essential that I remain vigilant so that I can alert the quality and production departments in the event of unusual results.
Frédéric Pirès, Quality Coordinator at the Paris-Gennevilliers mill
“My role during harvest time, with the help of the laboratory and test bakers, is to select the best batches of wheat offered by the cooperatives and to define a balanced blend in order to produce consistent, high-quality flour at the mill.
During this period, an equally important task is to review all the formulations of the flours offered to our customers in order to maintain consistent quality despite the change in harvest and the difference in quality between the two crops.
Wheat is a living raw material, and every year it presents new challenges. It's both exciting and rewarding!
Jean-Michel Enea — technician in the product quality laboratory at the Bordeaux mill
My role during harvest is to analyze freshly harvested wheat to determine its physical and chemical characteristics.
I process the wheat received from cooperatives into flour using a laboratory mill, then I carry out analyses, such as Chopin's alveograph.
Characterizing wheat allows us to select the varieties best suited to our customers' needs.
It also allows us to define the flour recipes that we will use during the harvest transition and throughout the year, ensuring that the flours are always perfectly balanced for our customers' needs.
Specific weight, protein content, Hagberg falling number... Are you familiar with these essential criteria for milling?
Hagberg falling time
Whose falling number? If you think you need a little refresher, we explain what the Hagberg falling number is in a beautiful infographic:
The protein content of wheat
As millers, we carry out numerous analyses to determine the protein quality of the French wheat varieties we use. The aim is to create the best blend of wheat to obtain flours that meet our specifications.
💡 Did you know?
There are two main categories of wheat:
• BPMF = Wheat for French Milling, which guarantees quality suitable for milling when used in blends.
• VRMs = Varieties Recommended by the Milling Industry, which are a limited selection of varieties that can be used alone or in blends.
In these two categories, we distinguish between:
• Bread wheat with a protein content between 11.5 and 12.5%
• Hard wheat with a protein content of more than 14%
• Biscuit wheat, with a protein content generally around 10%
The Specific Weight (SW) of wheat
Expressed in kg/hl, it represents the density of a pile of grain.
In the past, grain was traded by volume (barrels, bushels, etc.). Today, even with the weighing of loading trucks, this criterion remains crucial, with a contractual minimum of 76 kg/hl.
💡 Did you know?
Wheat grown in France generally has a specific weight (SW) of between 77 and 82. SW is a major criterion in the purchase of wheat for cultivation.
This criterion is always sought after in variety selection. Growing conditions and climate, particularly during the grain filling and ripening stages, have a significant impact. PS can deteriorate under the effects of drought or heavy rainfall, resulting in smaller, deformed, and less dense grains.
These variations in PS affect flour production yields in mills. When grains are too small, poorly filled, or less dense and less hard, the work of separating the core of the wheat grain (the floury kernel) from its husk (the bran) becomes more complex.
Mill equipment is designed to process grains weighing at least 76 kg/hl. PS is also an indicator for organizing wheat transport and storage.
