Cereal and oilseed rape harvest: final estimates - 2018

Introduction

Total cereal production, the area grown and yields in Scotland have decreased in 2018 compared to the previous year. Poor weather conditions experienced at key times during the year have contributed to the fall.

Around 420,000 hectares of cereals have been grown, three per cent lower than 2017. Average yield dropped by nine per cent, which led to a 12 per cent drop in production, to 2.5 million tonnes.

Oilseed rape has seen a similar pattern to cereal crops with drops in production, area and yield in 2018.

Commonly used terms

Hectares: the official measurement of agricultural land. One hectare is 10,000m² 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.