Scotland: Barley yields rated as average to very bad

Scotland’s spring barley was generally poor this year owing to bad drilling conditions earlier in the year. According to Farmers Weekly, Stuart Fuller-Shapcott in the Scottish Borders said spring barley were very poor with yields “average to very bad”. Screenings were slightly high, and Oxbridge was a “complete disaster” yielding just under 5t/ha.

Andrew Peddie in Fife said spring barley had been disappointing after been sown in a difficult spring. “It has never looked good.” But wheat yields are much better than expected, with quality good enough for the distilling market, he noted.

Allen Scobie from Scottish Agronomy said spring barley progress is slow in many areas with only 10–20% cut in Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire. Yields have been average but have suffered from high screenings and lower than average nitrogen.

For comparison, Optic spring barley was disappointing at 5t/ha due to poor seedbeds. With 1.6% nitrogen he said he was only getting £70/tonne.