In the UK, oilseed rape yields are an estimated 10 per cent higher than the five year average, based on the results from HGCA trials and supported by reports of commercial yields, as the harvest progresses.

Half of the HGCA trials have now been harvested, yielding an average of 5.5 tonnes per hectare. The latest HGCA report on the harvest revealed crops on heavier soil, better able to retain moisture during the dry spring, yielded particularly well. Varieties DK Cabaret and Sesame are said to be performing best compared to their five year average.

In France a similar pattern is developing. Agreste, the statistical department of the French Agriculture Ministry, has increased the outlook for the 2011 rapeseed harvest to 5.02 million tonnes. The increase puts the prospected yield well above the previous estimate of 4.53mt, and higher than 2010's yield of 4.82mt. Though yield projections rose from 2.98 to around 3.25 tonnes per hectare in France, a large part of the increase is thought to be due to increased plantings; the area under oilseed rape increased by 16,000 ha this year.

However, the situation is not the same all over Europe. In Germany, the farming association DRV today reported that continuing weather troubles are severely impeding the German harvest. In a statement the association said that following heavy rains losses of up to 30 per cent could be expected for winter oilseed rape.