This year’s harvest is demonstrating a marked recovery, as winter barley and oilseed rape yields surpass early expectations despite challenging weather conditions.
AHDB has published its third harvest report for 2025 today (8 August), highlighting notable improvements in crop performance as harvesting advances — particularly for winter wheat — despite intermittent heavy rainfall causing periodic delays.
The levy organisation's previous update, which covered the first 10% of the wheat crop, indicated yields were 11% below the five-year average.
However, with nearly half of the crop now cut, the outlook has significantly improved, with yields just 1% below average, though considerable variability persists between farms.
The winter barley harvest is now complete, with the final hectares harvested this week. Yields are reported at 1% below the five-year average.
Meanwhile, the oilseed rape harvest has concluded, achieving its highest average yield since 2011 for the winter-sown crop at 3.98 tonnes per hectare. Crop quality remains strong, with oil content described as “extremely high.”
The oat harvest is 48% complete, with early data showing yields down by 5% on average; however, this figure primarily reflects winter oat production, while the typical UK average encompasses both winter and spring varieties.
Winter wheat harvesting is also 48% complete, with an average yield of 7.66 tonnes per hectare — just 1% below the five-year average, according to the update.
Wheat quality remains robust, with Group 1 samples averaging 13.5% protein. Some crops have experienced reduced Hagberg Falling Numbers due to recent rainfall, with moisture levels ranging from 12.2% to 17%.
Meanwhile, spring barley harvest progress stands at 19% complete. Early yields are encouraging, up 21% on the five-year average.
However, AHDB advises caution in interpreting these results, as most data originates from eastern and southern regions, which may not represent the entire UK.
The levy board's fourth harvest report will be published on 22 August.
