A punishing European drought shrivels crops from Dutch potatoes to
Bosnian corn
[August 13, 2026] By
MIKE CORDER
WOLPHAARTSDIJK, Netherlands (AP) — A cloud of dust billows behind
Maarten Janse’s tractor as he spreads a mixture of compost, straw and
manure over a field to nourish the parched soil.
Janse's farm on the fertile land of the Netherlands' southwestern
Zeeland Province is drying out despite his efforts to make it more
drought resistant as accelerated human-caused global warming and a
supersized El Nino batter fields across Europe.
The drought that is roasting much of Europe this summer is taking a
heavy toll on crops across the continent, from potatoes in the
Netherlands to corn in Bosnia and grapes in Italy. Even when farmers try
to adapt, the extreme weather is hitting their crops and water supplies.
Triodos, a Dutch bank that has a focus on sustainability, published an
analysis this week that estimated the heatwaves and drought could reduce
gross domestic product across the European Union by 1% for 2026 or
around 180 billion euros ($208 billion). Farmers are among the hardest
hit, with their crops set to be badly affected by soaring temperatures
and lack of water. In large parts of the Netherlands, farmers are no
longer allowed to use water from streams and drainage channels to
irrigate fields and orchards.
Just add water? Dutch crops suffer from the drought
Another farmer in Zeeland, Hendrik Jan ten Cate, looks at a field full
of withered potato plants that are almost all ready for harvest — a
month early and with a significantly reduced crop. His potatoes are used
to make French fries for companies including McDonald’s, but they’re
likely going to be too small this year.
“People want long fries,” he says as he holds one of the potatoes.
“That’s going to be tough this year.”
Ten Cate is one of the lucky farmers because he is allowed to irrigate
his crops. But, even so, he estimates his harvest this year will be down
by about one-third compared to average years.
“It's not just the drought that is the problem," he says. "It is also
the sun, the dry air and especially the hot days we have had this year.
The potatoes just can't handle that combination very well.”
Bosnian agriculture, a key driver of the economy, is suffering
In Bosnia, where agriculture contributes roughly 5% of annual GDP and
10% of all employment, grain farmer Slavisa Lukic stood in one of his
corn fields as stalks blew limply in the breeze. His crops have been hit
by repeated heat waves and drought conditions. He said this year’s corn
yield would be very poor, if he manages to harvest one at all.
Lukic remembers when he grew 6 to 7 tons per hectare on his farm. He
expects this year’s corn yield will be around 1.5 to 2 tons per hectare.
Pointing to the drought-stricken land in northeastern Bosnia, Lukic said
clover fields that once grew abundantly have all but disappeared. “Now
they literally do not exist,” he said. “Nothing.”
Czech brewers fear bad hop harvest
The drought is even hitting one of the Czech Republic's most famous
products: beer.
Plzeňský Prazdroj, the country’s largest beer producer, expects to incur
losses this year due to a stunted hops yield.
Jakub Zaoral, the brewer’s sustainability manager, said that changes in
rainfall patterns – characterized by long periods of dryness with
occasional heavy storms – mean that when rain does fall, it runs off the
dry soil. That results in inconsistent yields and increasingly low
groundwater levels.
“There’s no choice but to simply accept the fact that one year will be
great and the next won’t be,” he said. “If it were to happen three times
in a row, that could very well become an existential problem for hop
growers.”
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A potato field affected by the drought in Poortvliet, Netherlands,
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Drought takes a toll across the Danube region
In Romania, some heat and drought-resistant crops like sunflowers have
been less affected by the extreme conditions and yields have been
plentiful. But the drought is still hitting home with record-low water
levels on the Danube River disrupting grain transport, causing
chronically congested terminals and an increasing pileup of crops with
nowhere to go.
“In a short time, maximum 10 days, we will enter full blast in sunflower
harvest, to be followed by corn,” Cezar Gheorghe, founder of grain
consultancy firm Agricolumn, told The Associated Press. “Already farmers
are in panic mode. They can’t find a place to store the corn and
sunflower seeds.”
Cattle grazing plains in Hungary are turning to dust. No rain has fallen
on Sándor Molnár's dairy farm since late May and he is having to buy
expensive feed for his 130 cows.
“We’re trying to hang in there and hope for the best, hoping next year
will be better,” he added. “To be honest, we’ve been saying that for a
few years now, but maybe this time it will be.”
Huge UK farm that invested in irrigation is feeling the heat
Elveden Estate, with more than 10,000 acres of farmland on the
Suffolk-Norfolk border in eastern England, has built a reservoir that
can hold enough water to fill about 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Less than a year after opening, it's almost dry. Another reservoir is at
about 20% capacity.
But the farm's water policy is paying off.
"The fact that we’ve invested significantly in reservoir storage and the
infrastructure associated with pumping water has meant that we’ve been
in a very strong position to continue to irrigate our crops through this
growing season,” the farm's managing director, Andrew Blenkiron, said.
But every drop counts.
“We’re very concerned that we haven’t got enough water to see us through
this season," Blenkiron said. “We’ve got probably, if this weather stays
as it is, six weeks of watering left to do.”
Diversify and feed the soil
Janse uses no-till farming on his fields — not plowing the soil,
planting crops to cover the ground year-round and adding organic matter
— to help cope with the whims of the weather as climate change triggers
more extremes.
He has also diversified by running a popular campsite on his farm near
the picturesque town of Veere. As he tends to his fields, guests walk by
toward a lake where yachts and a river cruise ship sail past.
And as dry weather causes an increase in soil salinity in fields, Janse
grows samphire, also known as sea asparagus, on a small patch of land.
It's a crop that can thrive in salty conditions. But with no rainfall,
even that is struggling this year.
“Samphire needs fresh water, and if there is only saltwater it doesn’t
grow either,” he said.
___
Nadja Lovadinov in London, Mustakim Hasnath in Suffolk, Stanislav Hodina
in Prague, Czech Republic, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, and
Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed to this report.
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