Cereal and oilseed rape harvest - first estimates: 2018

Wheat yield expected to remain constant but area likely to drop

Wheat yields are estimated to have stayed the same over the last year. It is anticipated that yields will remain steady at around 8.1 tonnes per hectare.

Expert advice indicated that some wheat had been cut earlier this year which may have had an impact on yield levels in 2018.

While the area of wheat grown has been constant over the last four years, it is expected that this year there will be a decrease of around nine per cent. This may lead to production also decreasing by around nine per cent compared to the previous year.

Wheat accounts for 30% Total crop production and 22% Total crop area

Scottish wheat is mainly soft wheats that are used mostly for distilling.

Scotland imports hard wheats for milling (generally used for bread-making) because our climate does not suit hard wheat varieties.