2013 Harvest – Areas and Yields October 24, 2013 12:00 am DEFRA has published its provisional results from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture for the UK. The key results for the arable sector are summarised in the table below. The final results will be available on 19th December. PROVISIONAL UK JUNE 2013 SURVEY AND CROP PRODUCTION AREA – ‘000 Ha 2010 2011 2012 2013 Change 12-13 WHEAT Yield (tonnes per Ha) Production (‘000 tonnes) 1,939 7.7 14,878 1,969 7.7 15,257 1,992 6.7 13,261 1,626 7.4 12,101 -18% +12% -9% BARLEY Winter Barley Spring Barley Yield (tonnes per Ha) Production (‘000 tonnes) 921 383 539 5.7 5,252 970 359 611 5.7 5,494 1,002 385 618 5.5 5,522 1,214 313 902 5.8 7,102 +21% -19% +46% +6% +29% OATS Yield (tonnes per Ha) Production (‘000 tonnes) 124 5.5 685 109 5.6 613 122 5.1 627 176 5.5 975 +45% +8% +55% OTHER CEREALS 29 27 26 26 -2% TOTAL CEREALS Production (‘000 tonnes) 3,013 20,946 3,075 21,485 3,142 19,515 3,042 20,292 -3% +4% OILSEED RAPE Winter Oilseed Rape Spring Oilseed Rape Yield (tonnes per Ha) Production (‘000 tonnes) 642 622 20 3.5 2,230 705 680 24 3.9 2,758 756 744 12 3.4 2,557 716 622 95 3.0 2,153 -5% -16% +699% -11% -16% LINSEED 44 36 28 34 +24% SUGAR BEET 118 113 120 117 -3% POTATOES 138 146 149 140 -6% FIELD BEANS 168 125 96 119 +24% COMBINING PEAS 42 30 24 29 +20% MAIZE 164 164 158 196 +24% FALLOW 174 156 153 255 +66% Source: DEFRA The drop in the UK wheat area is no surprise given the earlier surveys for England (DEFRA) and GB (HGCA). Average yield, whilst better than last year, is nothing special. Therefore total UK production drops again to 12.1m tonnes. This figure is at the lower end of traders’ estimates so there could be slightly more availability than the DEFRA figures show. Whatever the final figure is though, it is obviously a small wheat harvest. Overall UK cereals output is slightly up compared to last year. This is a result of the increase in barley and oats areas (and reasonable yields). We have spoken about the ‘glut’ of oats on the market previously, and this can be clearly seen in the figures. The oilseed rape area was well down – the massive increase in spring crops not compensating for the fall in autumn crops that made it through to harvest. Disappointing yields have led to a sizeable fall in total UK oilseed production for 2013. Other standout figures are the total area of uncropped arable land rising by 66%. After the autumn of 2012, any crops offering a spring planting option increased, including the pulse category. Interestingly maize shows a large rise as well. Obviously there was a desire to get land planted in the spring and maize was seen as a viable option, being just about the lastest crop that can be drilled. It would be interesting to know if all of these maize crops have got a ready use or buyer lined-up. With the wet weather recently, there will also be issues in some areas in getting the crop harvested and (further) damage to soil structure. The full statistical release can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/251222/structure-jun2013prov-UK-17oct13a.pdf The first clear indications of next year’s crop areas will come through the HGCA’s ‘Early Bird’ Survey due to be published next month. We would expect a large area of wheat, and of oilseed rape. It will be interesting to see if any of the break crops, after returning to some farms in 2012, will be retained for the future.
