On Thursday (11th August) Defra released the latest national statistics from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. The report gives the provisional estimates for the main cereal, oilseed and uncropped arable land areas on agricultural holdings on 1 June 2011.

Wheat

In 2011 the provisional area of wheat in England has increased by 1.6 per cent compared with 2010 and now stands at 1.82 million hectares. The largest increase was seen in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The increase is due in part to good autumn planting conditions and high market prices at the time of planting. A small increase was predicted by the cereals industry and Defra confirmed that the June 2011 provisional estimate falls within the industry projections of between a 1 and 3 per cent rise.

Barley

The total barley area has increased by 4 per cent to 607 thousand hectares. This is due to the large (17 per cent) increase in the area of spring-sown barley. Spring-sown barley increases have been attributed to favourable prices compared to beans and an increasing number of livestock farmers growing their own animal feed. conversely, the survey showed winter-sown barley decreased by 7 per cent to 297 thousand hectares.

Oilseed rape

Oilseed rape increased in area by 8 per cent to 650 thousand hectares, the largest area ever seen. Both spring and winter-sown areas saw increases of 37 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. Good market conditions and excellent planting conditions at the end of August 2010 were said to be behind the increases.

Uncropped arable land

In 2011 the provisional area of uncropped arable land currently stands at 136 thousand hectares, a 9 per cent decrease on the 2010 figure.  

The department expressed its gratitude to the farmers who took part in the survey; Defra said in a release, "The support of farmers enables the Department to produce timely figures on the latest trends which are important for the Department's business and the industry's market operations."

Whilst the figures give a good indication of trends, they may be subject to amendment as further survey responses come in and more data is validated. Final results will be published on 15th September 2011. The results, broken down by English region, can be viewed here.