Scottish Agricultural Census - provisional results: June 2020

Total area of cereals and oilseed rape remains stable despite extreme weather

Despite the disruptions to winter planting, the total area of cereals and oilseed rape remained stable. Around 467,000 hectares were used to grow cereals and oilseeds. The total area planted was below the ten-year average. Barley makes up 65 per cent of the total hectares used to grow cereals and oilseeds, up from 62 per cent in June 2019.

Area of barley: 302,500 ha

Area of wheat : 93,800 ha

Cereals have a strong association with the whisky industry. Both barley and wheat, the two biggest crops, are used to make whisky.

Around 20 per cent of cereal area was used to grow wheat, down from 23 per cent in the previous year.

The area used to grow oats has increased by seven per cent since June 2019. The area used to grow oilseeds fell by three per cent. Other crops grown, such as rye and triticale, are still minority crops.