Long dry spells in the spring and recent hot temperatures mean that harvest is off to the fastest start since at least 2006 (earliest available harvest report), with multiple reports of winter barley being cut in June.

The first harvest report of the 2025/26 season, covering the beginning of harvest up to 09 July 2025, is released today. Produced with data collected by The Andersons Centre and compiled by AHDB, the report is based on a sample survey of farmers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and will provide figures on harvest progress throughout the harvest season.

Due to a band of heavy rainfall during the weekend of 05-06 July, there was a slight pause in combining, though harvest pace has since picked up. Winter barley harvest is progressing rapidly, owing to the dry weather either side of 05-06 July.

However, progress is highly variable both within and between regions. Of those surveyed across the UK, 10 per cent of winter barley crops are reported to have been harvested.

While some oilseed rape has now been cut, no progress was reported by participants in this survey. Reports of yields in the earliest cut oilseed rape have been encouraging, though variable.

Due to the hot temperatures forecast for the coming days, growers are warned to be mindful of temperature claims when going into stores, so they do not incur cooling charges or even face a load being rejected, because its temperature is greater than 25 degrees.

Overall, it is estimated that 10 per cent of the UK winter barley area was harvested by 09 July 2025. This is ahead of the same time last year when harvest was 7 per cent complete, and the five-year average of 6 per cent complete at this point in the season.

Harvest is expected to continue progressing well in the coming fortnight, with winter barley harvesting already complete for some farms. There will now be a gap for many before winter wheat harvest starts, while some will move straight into harvesting oilseed rape.

Olivia Bonser, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds Senior Analyst, said:

"Given that we are at an early stage in the season, and that weather has been variable in the approach to harvest, there will inevitably be variation in farms across the country. As can be expected, some regions have only seen minimal progress at this point. As such, early yield data may well be skewed and should not be considered representative of the whole country. Information on quality is also limited at this point."

So far, progress has only been recorded in the Eastern and South Eastern regions in this survey. However – anecdotally- harvest has begun in other regions too. In the Eastern region, 38 per cent of winter barley is reported to have been harvested. This ranges from some farms that are yet to start to others who have now finished. In the South East, 19 per cent of the crop has been harvested.

For farms further North and West, harvest is expected to start early next week.

Straw volumes are proving a challenge so far this season, with some noticeably short crops due to the prolonged warm and dry weather.

Yields of winter barley have been reported as positive, despite the dry weather seen during the latter stage of crop development. Reported UK yields averaged 6.9 t/ha, up 2 per cent on the five-year average. Reported yields range from 6.8-7.0 t/ha. However, it can be expected that these figures will change as more data is collected.

Regarding quality, there is currently limited quality data available. More information will be published in the next harvest report, however initial specific weights in the Eastern region are good and are as high as 70 kg/hl in some areas. No issues with nitrogen levels have been reported. Moisture levels of crops harvested to date have averaged 13.6 per cent.

This is the first report of 2025. The second report of 2025 is scheduled for release on Friday 25 July.