Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2024
Final results and detailed tables from the 2024 June Agricultural Census on land use, crop areas, livestock and the number of people working on agricultural holdings.
Module results on slurry storage and agricultural machinery are also included within this publication.
Small decrease in the total area of cereals and oilseeds compared with five year average
In 2024, 469,800 hectares were used to grow cereals and oilseeds, a decrease of 0.3% when compared with the five year average (471,300 hectares).
The sown area for wheat, barley and oats only was 426,000 hectares in 2024, a decrease of 0.9% when compared with the five year average (429,700 hectares).
Cereals have a strong association with the whisky industry. Both barley and wheat, the two biggest crops in terms of land area, are used to make whisky. Barley made up 64% of the total area used to grow cereals and oilseeds in 2024, similar to the five year average proportion. Around 21% of the total cereal and oilseeds area was used to grow wheat in 2024, again similar to the five year average.
The area used to grow oats decreased by 11% compared with the five year average. The area used to grow oilseeds increased by 6.0% compared with the five year average. For oilseed rape only, the sown area decreased by 10% when compared with 2023 but remains above the five year average. Other crops grown (rye, triticale and mixed grain) form a small proportion of land area for crops amounting to 7,100 hectares in 2024.
Figure 3: Area of cereals and oilseeds, 2014 to 2024
Contact
Email: agric.stats@gov.scot
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