Cereal and oilseed areas in England at 1 June 2024
Updated 29 August 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cereal-and-oilseed-rape-areas-in-england/cereal-and-oilseed-rape-areas-in-england-at-1-june-2023
This release contains the estimates of cereal and oilseed crop areas on commercial agricultural holdings in England on 1 June 2024 from the June Survey of Agriculture. All other arable and horticultural crops areas will be published in September 2024 along with other areas of land use and ownership. The cereal and oilseed crop areas are final and will not be updated.
All results tables are available in the accompanying dataset, which is available at Cereal and Oilseed Areas in England at 1 June (dataset). The dataset contains estimates broken down by crop type and region from 1983 to 2024.
Key points
Cereals
- The area of wheat in England decreased by 11% to 1.40 million hectares in 2024.
- The total English barley area increased by 6.2% between 2023 and 2024 to 849 thousand hectares. Winter barley decreased by 17% to 325 thousand hectares whilst spring barley increased by 28% to 524 thousand hectares.
- The oats area in England increased by 11% to 148 thousand hectares in 2024.
Oilseed rape
- Winter sown oilseed rape (98% of the total oilseed area) decreased by 28% to 244 thousand hectares.
Section 1 Detailed results
Whilst the total wheat and oilseed rape areas in England both saw decreases of 11% and 27% respectively, the barley area saw an increase of 6.2% (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Area of wheat, barley and oilseed rape in England at 1 June (thousand hectares)
1.1 Cereals
Figure 2 shows a fall in the total cereal area of 4.6% between 2023 and 2024. This is largely driven by an 11% decrease in the wheat area. Winter barley also saw a decrease of 17% and other cereals fell by 9.2%. Winter crops have been affected by very difficult weather conditions which has seen many farmers switch to spring grown crops.
Figure 2 - Cereal areas in England at 1 June (thousand hectares)
| Year | wheat | winter barley | spring barley | oats | other cereals | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,265 | 253 | 792 | 169 | 46 | 2,526 |
| 2021 | 1,655 | 345 | 471 | 159 | 62 | 2,692 |
| 2022 | 1,668 | 372 | 410 | 140 | 59 | 2,649 |
| 2023 | 1,580 | 391 | 408 | 134 | 55 | 2,568 |
| 2024 | 1,402 | 325 | 524 | 148 | 50 | 2,450 |
(1) other cereals are rye, mixed corn and triticale
1.2 Wheat
The 2024 wheat area estimate for England is 1.40 million hectares, a decrease of 11% compared to 2023 (Figure 1) and the smallest area since 2020. Difficult weather conditions in the autumn and restricted opportunities for spring drilling have led to a decrease in wheat area. This is the lowest area since 2020 when crop plantings were last affected by very wet weather in the autumn.
All English regions saw a decrease in wheat area. The largest proportional decrease was in the North West region, which saw a fall of 16% (Figure 3). The Eastern region and the East Midlands together grow almost half of the wheat in the country, accounting for 28% and 19% of the total area respectively.
Figure 3 - Regional wheat areas in England at 1 June (thousand hectares)
| Region | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| North East | 63,775 | 57,665 |
| North West | 31,781 | 26,728 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 220,363 | 193,678 |
| East Midlands | 312,888 | 266,811 |
| West Midlands | 153,422 | 135,575 |
| Eastern | 440,607 | 397,996 |
| South East & London | 205,035 | 188,290 |
| South West | 151,748 | 135,202 |
1.3 Barley
The total area of barley increased by 6.2%, from 799 thousand hectares in 2023 to 849 thousand hectares in 2024. Winter barley fell by 17% to 325 thousand hectares, whilst spring barley increased by 28% to 524 thousand hectares, the highest area since 2020 which also saw a swing between winter and spring planting due to unfavourable wet conditions in the autumn. In 2024, spring barley accounts for two thirds of the total barley area in England, compared to around half in 2023 (Figure 4).
Figure 4 - Winter and spring barley areas in England at 1 June (thousand hectares)
| Year | winter | spring | total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 253 | 792 | 1,045 |
| 2021 | 345 | 471 | 816 |
| 2022 | 372 | 410 | 782 |
| 2023 | 391 | 408 | 799 |
| 2024 | 325 | 524 | 849 |
Figure 5 shows the regional barley figures. In 2024, all regions saw a rise in area, apart from the West Midlands and North East which saw little change. The East Midlands saw the largest proportional increase of 10%. The Eastern region continues to account for almost a quarter of the total barley planted area.
Figure 5 - Regional barley areas in England at 1 June (thousand hectares)
| Region | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| North East | 38,097 | 38,099 |
| North West | 37,262 | 40,069 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 121,211 | 127,734 |
| East Midlands | 130,066 | 143,348 |
| West Midlands | 57,334 | 57,273 |
| Eastern | 193,566 | 204,767 |
| South East & London | 98,534 | 107,315 |
| South West | 123,219 | 130,482 |
1.4 Oats
The area of oats in England increased by 11% from 134 thousand hectares in 2023 to 148 thousand hectares in 2024.
1.5 Other Cereals
The combined area of rye, mixed corn and triticale in England decreased by 9.2%, from 55 thousand hectares in 2023 to 50 thousand hectares in 2024.
1.6 Cereal production
Favourable early August weather conditions have aided the GB harvest with many regions well advanced compared to last year.
Early indications show yields of winter wheat and winter barley down on the five-year average. Winter oilseed rape yields are generally poor, but this varies regionally with considerable pest/disease damage in some areas. In general, average moisture levels are low enough that it is expected little drying will be required.
The first official Defra harvest estimates for cereals and oilseed production are expected to be published in October 2024, followed by the final UK results expected in December 2024. For further information go to our statistical announcements page.
1.7 Oilseed crops
The total area of oilseed rape decreased by 27% from 342 thousand hectares in 2023 to 250 thousand hectares in 2024. This was due to a 28% decrease in the winter sown area which stands at 244 thousand hectares in 2024. Winter oilseed accounts for 98% of the total oilseed rape area.
The spring sown area of oilseed increased by 57% between 2023 and 2024, and accounts for only 2% of the total oilseed rape area.
The linseed sown area decreased by 15% whilst the area of borage saw an increase of 9.8%, together these crops account for only a small proportion of oilseed crops.
Figure 6 - Regional oilseed rape areas in England at 1 June (thousand hectares)
| Region | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| North East | 23,214 | 15,089 |
| North West | 5,456 | 3,735 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 57,927 | 39,322 |
| East Midlands | 71,949 | 47,739 |
| West Midlands | 41,264 | 29,756 |
| Eastern | 61,815 | 50,572 |
| South East & London | 43,946 | 35,561 |
| South West | 36,801 | 27,984 |
All regions in England saw decreases in the oilseed rape area (Figure 6). The largest proportional decreases were in the North East and East Midlands regions (35% and 34% respectively).
The Eastern Region and East Midlands have the largest oilseed rape areas. Combined, these regions account for 39% of the total oilseed rape area in England.
Section 2 About these statistics
2.1 Survey methodology
Full details of the survey methodology are available on the Structure of the agricultural industry guidance web page.
The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture has been run predominantly online since 2011, with an option for farmers to complete a paper form if they prefer. The survey is annual and samples around 30,000 holdings most years, with a full census run once a decade. The last census was run in 2021.
The June 2024 survey was sent to a sample of 56,000 commercial holdings and responses were received from 30,000 holdings, representing a response rate of 53%. This is a larger sample than usual which will enable us to provide detailed geographical breakdowns later in the year and help to understand changes currently happening within the farming sector, e.g. changes in land use following the introduction of ELM schemes. Commercial holdings are defined as those with more than five hectares of agricultural land, one hectare of orchards, 0.5 hectares of vegetables or 0.1 hectares of protected crops, or more than 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry.
Table 1 provides details of the sample survey population broken down by farm size. The size of a farm is determined by its Standard Labour Requirement (SLR) which is the typical number of full-time workers required on the holding based on its activity.
Table 1: June 2024 population size and sampling rate
| Stratum | Description | Sampling rate (%) | Population size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLR < 0.5 | 30% | 50264 | |
| 2 | SLR >= 0.5 and < 1 | 51% | 15271 | |
| 3 | SLR >= 1 and < 2 | 71% | 13527 | |
| 4 | SLR >= 2 and < 3 | 80% | 6773 | |
| 5 | SLR >= 3 and < 5 | 80% | 6675 | |
| 6 | SLR >= 5 | 80% | 7182 | |
| 10 | SLR unknown | 97% | 5649 | |
| All | 52% | 105341 |
For pig and poultry sectors, an additional data collection exercise was run to collect data from a central point for some of the largest companies. Cattle results are sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS). The data include returns from all holdings with cattle so are not subject to survey error.
2.2 Data analysis
The data are subject to rigorous validation checks which identify inconsistencies within the data or large year-on-year changes. Any records that have not been cleaned by the results production stage are excluded from the analysis.
Population totals are estimated for each question on the survey to account for the non-sampled and non-responding holdings. This survey uses the technique known as ratio raising, in which the trend between the sample data and base data (previous year s data) is calculated for each stratum. The calculated ratio is then applied to the previous year s population data to give England level estimates. For holdings where we do not have base data (new holdings or long-term non-responders) the sample estimates are raised according to the inverse sampling fraction.
2.3 Confidence indicators
Confidence intervals and tick based indicators are shown alongside all of our estimated figures and can be found in the data tables within the dataset. These both help to show where there is more variability around results and highlight whether year-on-year changes are statistically significant or not. Whilst these are a useful indicator, they do not take into account any other sources of survey errors, such as non-response bias or administrative data errors.
2.4 Data notes
- All figures relate to commercial holdings apart from the cattle figures which relate to all holdings as these data are sourced from the Cattle Tracing Scheme.
- All percentage changes are based on unrounded figures.
- Totals may not necessarily agree with the sum of their components due to rounding.
2.5 Data uses and users
Results from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture have a wide range of uses and users with requests for data being made on a frequent basis. A document providing information of specific uses and users can be found on our guidance and notes.
2.6 Other survey results and publications
The next releases from the June Survey are expected to be in September. The definitive publication date will be announced on the research and statistics webpage on gov.uk.
More detailed results from the June Survey can be found on our Structure of the agricultural industry in England and the UK at June web page. This includes various time series of crop areas and livestock numbers dating back as early as 1866 and detailed geographical breakdowns of the results.
2.7 Feedback
We welcome feedback and any thoughts to improve the publication further. Please send any feedback to: [email protected].
Section 3 - What you need to know about this release
3.1 Contact details
Responsible statistician: Sarah Thompson
Team: Farming Statistics - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 0300 060 0170
3.2 Accredited official statistics
Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. An explanation can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website.
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2014. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled accredited official statistics .
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards (see contact details). Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website.
Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:
- Reviewed and amended the validation checks carried out on response data including validation against new administrative data sources to better assure ourselves of the quality of the statistics.
- Enhanced trustworthiness by removing pre-release access.