Wheat was particularly affected – with yield down 14.1% on the five-year average. Spring barley was down 7.4%, but there was better news for winter barley (up 1.6%) and oilseed rape (up 5.9%).
Without the investment in technology by farmers the wheat harvest could have been much worse, the NFU has said. Chief combinable crops adviser Guy Gagen added that the average results hid “extreme variations across the country”.
Gagen added: “Results have been mixed across the main arable crops in 2012, and the average results hide extreme variations across the country. Yields for some crops have performed better than average in 2012 with results for barley reported as good for malting and around average for rapeseed in terms of oil content and yield.
“Much of the 2013 rapeseed crop is now planted and up, and farmers will be looking for further breaks in the weather to complete winter cereal crop planting.
“However, we have seen a relatively low wheat yield this year, below seven tonnes per hectare. This is something not seen in the UK since the late 1980s. The abnormally high rainfall across the UK since early summer this year has depressed wheat yield.
“Without considerable investment by our farmers in recent years, the results for wheat could have been much worse this harvest. Investments in grain drying and handling facilities have been vital, while improved combine harvester capacity meant significant progress was made when breaks in the weather allowed. Although 2012 may be a harvest to forget for many, it has underlined the need for continual investment in agriculture.”
Commenting on the knock-on impact on poultry farmers, NFU director of corporate affairs Tom Hind, said: “The volatility that we have been experiencing in feed costs recently has been unprecedented and likely to stay.
“Feed is the single biggest cost to poultry producers and many are reporting to me the significant outlay they are having to make to purchase feed compared to last year. It’s now really vital that the whole UK supply chain works together to ensure these additional costs farmers are facing are recognised or else we see a risk of critical mass in domestic production eroding.”
Source: NFU
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