Cereal production falls

Scottish cereal production fell by 12% in 2018, according to new final estimates released by Scotland’s chief statistician.

The figures show that about 420,000 hectares of cereals were grown this year, 3% down on 2017. Combined with a 9% reduction in yield, this resulted in a 12% fall in total output.

“The decline was due to the unfavourable weather conditions experienced in winter 2017, as well as spring and early summer of 2018,” said the Scottish Government, adding that conditions were particularly bad for barley and wheat crops, resulting in a number of farmers choosing to whole-crop due to low yields and quality.

The figures also showed spring barley with a 6% fall in yield and a 3% fall in production.