Russia Grain Area Mostly Protected During Frost, Center Says

Russia’s grain areas in the south mostly have enough snow to protect against damage from frosts, the Federal Hydrometeorological Center said.

Snow was 35 centimeters (14 inches) deep in the European part of Russia for the last 10 days of January, Anna Strashnaya, head of the agricultural-forecasts department at the center, said by phone in Moscow today. Lows were minus 27 degrees Celsius (minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit) at the end of the month, data from the center show.

Minimal snow left open potential for damage in parts of the Rostov region and in central parts of the Krasnodar region, both in the south, she said. Temperatures closer to the plant under the snow last month dropped to minus 12 degrees Celsius in those regions, she said.

“There is no catastrophe,” Strashnaya said. “Frosts are weakening and we don’t expect that negative factors will strengthen.” The center will be able to provide estimates of any crop damage after Feb. 20, she said.

There is a 50 percent chance of drought, she said. Grain Union President Arkady Zlochevsky said yesterday “high atmospheric pressure” in January may cause drought in Russia in spring or summer. Strashnaya said there isn’t a strong connection between high air pressure in winter and drought.


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