Cereal and oilseed rape harvest: final estimates - 2020

Introduction 

Overall, 2020 has been a good year for the cereal harvest in Scotland. A small increase in production was due to a 2 per cent increase in yield. Area sown was very similar to the previous year.

2019 and 2020 have been the highest years for cereal production since 2015, with production over 3 million tonnes.

Wet weather contributed to decreases for winter crops. More favourable conditions in spring and summer supported shifts to spring crops, where some record yields have been reported for 2020.

Commonly used terms

Hectares: the official measurement of agricultural land. One hectare is 10,000 square meters or roughly the same as a full-size rugby pitch.

Production: the total amount of crops that are produced measured in metric tonnes.

Yield: the amount of produce, weighed in tonnes, that is harvested per hectare of land.