Harvest Overview 2025 – Mixed Fortunes Across The UK
4 November 2025The Scottish Government has released its initial estimates of area, yield, and production for the 2025 harvest, covering the main cereal and oilseed crops — winter and spring barley, wheat, oats, and oilseed rape. Final figures are due in December, based on a wider sample of farms, but early indications suggest a notable improvement in Scottish yields compared with 2024.
As shown in Table 1, total Scottish cereal production for 2025 is provisionally estimated at 3.25 million tonnes, an 8% increase on last year and 7% above the five-year average.
Table 1 Area, yield and production of cereals and oilseed rape in 2025, 2024 to 2025 percentage change and five-year average production (2020 to 2024)
Spring barley production is forecast at 1.65 million tonnes, close to the five-year average but 1% lower than 2024, reflecting a slightly reduced cropped area. Despite dry conditions during the season, yields have held steady, though a much higher proportion is likely to go into feed markets due to elevated rejection rates for malting quality.
Winter barley output is projected to reach 381 thousand tonnes, a 16% rise on 2024, with average yields up 15% to 8.8 t/ha — potentially a record high.
Wheat production is expected to exceed one million tonnes, an increase of 23% from last year. This reflects both a 12% gain in yield and a 10% expansion in area, although performance remains variable depending on soil type and local rainfall.
Oat production is estimated at 200 thousand tonnes, up 10%, supported by modest yield improvements and a 7% larger area.
Oilseed rape production is forecast at 152 thousand tonnes, 15% higher than in 2024, despite an 11% smaller cropped area — a strong sign of yield recovery after several challenging seasons.
England’s Harvest in Comparison
In sharp contrast, England’s 2025 harvest has been confirmed as the second worst on record, following one of the warmest springs and driest early summers in more than a century. According to Defra’s first estimates, total cereal output fell sharply, with three of the five poorest harvests in history now occurring within the past decade.
Wheat production reached 10.6 million tonnes, up 4.9% on 2024 due to a larger cropped area (+8.8%), but yields remained below average at 7.0 t/ha, far short of the ten-year total production average of 12.9 Mt.
Barley output declined 14% to 4.2 million tonnes, driven by a 23% reduction in spring barley and a smaller 2.2% fall in winter barley.
Oat production fell 2.3%, even with a 9.4% increase in area, as yields dropped 11% year on year.
Oilseed rape was a rare positive performer, with yields up 29% on 2024 and 17% above the five-year average.
Overall, the 2025 harvest season underscores the mixed fortunes north to south: Scotland enjoying stronger yield recovery and improved performance across most crops, while England continues to grapple with the effects of particularly drier weather.
Mark Bowsher-Gibbs
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