Wheat area in England down 5%, according to Defra figures

The wheat area in England for harvest 2023 is estimated to be 1,580 Kha, down 5% year-on-year, according to provisional figures.

Defra has today (31 August) released its arable crop areas for England, as at 1 June 2023, showing a lower-than-expected wheat area for 2023 harvest.

Excluding the 2019 autumn wash out (harvest 2020), the figures show that this year is set to be the lowest wheat area in England since 2013.

The figures suggest that total availability of wheat in the UK at the start of this marketing year may not going to be as high as initially expected.

Anthony Speight, senior analyst at AHDB, said that to some extent, the reduced wheat area was 'a little surprising'.

"When this 2023 crop was sown towards the end of 2022, wheat prices were historically high from the on-going war between Russia and Ukraine.

"However, it seems that barley and oilseed rape were favoured over wheat," he noted.

The total barley area in England for 2023 is estimated at 799 Kha, up 2% on the year, according to Defra's figures.

This increase comes from a higher winter barley area, estimated at 391 Kha, up 5% on the year, while the spring barley area marginally decreased by 1%.

For oilseed rape, the area in England for 2023 is estimated at 342 Kha, gaining 6% on the year.

Mr Speight explained that the area of the OSR crop had reduced in recent years from pest pressure.

"However, very attractive prices throughout 2022 led to an uptick in plantings, though this is down from plantings in the Early Bird Survey, which initially estimated the area at 369 Kha in England.

"Pest pressure appears to have led to some losses of OSR, along with inclement weather, "he said.

Defra's provisional figures show that the estimated England oat area in 2023 is 134 Kha, down 4% year-on-year.