The 2020 AHDB Planting and Variety Survey has revealed a large swing to spring cropping due to poor autumn conditions.
Wheat plantings have dropped 25 per cent from 2019 to 1.363 million hectares in Great Britain (GB), with much of this replaced by spring barley or oats.
Although there will be a plentiful supply of barley, for wheat there are concerns about both the lower planted area and the quality of the crop, as dry conditions in spring have not aided crop development.
Oilseed rape (OSR) area has drastically reduced, continuing last year’s downwards trajectory. Many growers this year have withdrawn the crop from rotation, with the wet autumn severely affecting both the ability to drill and crop establishment. This, combined with ongoing pest pressure, has meant the 2020 harvest area for OSR is the lowest recorded in England since 2002.
Anthony Speight, AHDB Analyst, said: “The UK grower has faced many challenges this season, with a very wet autumn, followed by an extremely dry spring. However, it is critical to note going into the next marketing season that although we are going into a wheat deficit, our prices will be capped by the market as we reach import parity. Furthermore, barley export markets beyond Europe may be our only option after December, depending on the progress of Brexit negotiations.”
Paul Temple, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds Board Chair, said: “For most growers this has been a season they would rather forget. As they start planning for the first crops post Brexit, two things will be important, the market they choose to target & varieties that offer agronomic resilience.”
The key findings of the survey are:
GB wheat area is estimated at 1.363 million hectares, a 25 per cent decrease from 2019
GB spring barley area is estimated at 1.063 million hectares, up 52 per cent from 2019
GB winter barley area is estimated at 296,000 hectares, a 34 per cent decrease from 2019
Area of oilseed rape in England and Scotland is estimated at 387,000 hectares, down 26 per cent from 2019
Area of oats in England and Scotland is estimated at 211,000 hectares, a 21 per cent increase from 2019
Skyfall is the most popular wheat variety, with 10 per cent of area
RGT-Planet is the most popular barley variety, accounting for 28 per cent of total area.
The full AHDB Planting and Variety Survey results are available to download on the AHDB Survey Results page.
