UK: British farmers report good progress with winter barley harvest

After a catchy start, a more settled period has seen good progress with winter barley and rapeseed harvest, according to the AHDB’s first Harvest progress report of 2024.

The mostly warm, dry weather has allowed winter crop harvesting to progress at pace, with 85% of English, Welsh and Scottish winter barley and 73% of oilseed rape cut by 31 July.

At 85% cut, the winter barley harvest is well ahead of the same time last year when harvest was 48% complete, and the five-year average of 50.6% complete at this point in the season.

Winter barley harvest has now started across all regions in England and Scotland, with progress ranging from 40% complete in the South East, to 100% in the Midlands, eastern and northern regions.

“It’s thought that the bigger farms down south are focusing on oilseed rape harvest before moving to winter barley, hence the slower pace,” says the report.

Looking at yields, early indications vary significantly by region. GB yields, overall, are down 12% on the UK five-year average at 6.2 t/ha, and ranging from 5.3–8.5 t/ha.

Better yields have been reported in the eastern region, while the East Midlands saw the greatest fall on average in yields so far.

There is limited quality data so far, but early indications suggest specific weights are currently coming in between 59-72 kg/hl. Screening retentions are reportedly between 85-90%, a little lower than normal due to a smaller grain size.

Grain nitrogens for malting varieties are generally low, ranging from 1.30-1.60%. Finally, moistures have varied greatly, sitting between 11.6-15.3%, and averaging at 12.8%.

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