Cereal harvest cheer

10th October 2013

Scotland Agriculture Rural Development Statistics.
Experts estimate improvements on last year.

Commenting on the latest estimates of the Scottish cereal and oilseed rape harvest, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
“This year’s cereal harvest estimates must be welcome news indeed for Scottish farmers after the double whammy of last year’s washout summer and the extreme winter we experienced earlier this year.

“After twelve months of meteorological misery, this summer was sensational and provided ideal conditions for growing crops. Although Scottish cereals are still being harvested and these figures are provisional estimates, today’s expert predictions of a partial recovery after last year’s dreadful drop in production is good news for Scottish agriculture.

“I also welcome the increase in average yields in the last 10 years compared to the previous decade, which shows a long term improvement as our farmers reap the rewards of the new technologies and production methods we now have at our disposal.”

The full statistical publication is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/01073

This publication contains provisional estimates of the 2013 cereal and oilseed rape harvest, along with commentary and graphics on longer term trends. It also contains a comparison of how historic provisional estimates compare with final results from the Cereal Production Survey.

Interactive online charts showing production trends and the influence of changes in yields and areas grown are available at:
http://scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries/Publications/InteractiveCerealCharts

The estimates of the Scottish cereal and oilseed rape havest have been published a day after the June 2013 Agricultural Census: http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Difficult-winter-highlighted-in-latest-farming-figures-4f6.aspx