Harvest progress in the UK

Data collected up to 24 September (week 12)

The cereal harvest is now (as of 24 September) complete for those reporting in this survey (Table 1).

Anecdotally, there are some small areas of spring barley crops and some pulses left to be cut, particularly in Northern Ireland and North Scotland, although these are anticipated to be completed soon.

This harvest has been extremely challenging for many growers.

Even where yields have been above expectations from earlier in the year, price declines throughout the course of the year will have had a significant impact on the profitability of arable farms.

Overall, the 2025 harvest progressed quickly with little need to dry crops, though rainfall slowed the pace of harvest towards the end.

But the overriding message from this harvest is variability, with considerable variations in yield both within and between regions. 

Table 1. Harvest progress and yields reported up to 24 September 2025 (week 12)

*historical yields include both winter and spring oilseed rape.

Source: AHDB, Defra. 

As with the previous reports, there is a split in the quality challenges for spring malting barley.

In the South of England, high nitrogen levels will impact the ability of the crop to trade into some markets. In the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland, high screenings continue to be the overriding challenge for the crop.

Reports of screening levels of up to 30% are not uncommon, with loads being downgraded to feed.

This split in quality also hampers inter-UK trade, with English spring barley nitrogen levels too high for the areas where screenings have been the main challenge.

While the quality of spring barley is poorer, demand for malting barley is weaker than in recent years and marketing the crop is proving challenging.

With harvest all but complete, attention turns to establishing next year’s crops.

Many farmers have been out this week spraying off weeds in advance of establishing winter cereals.

The rainfall that slowed progress in the latter weeks of this harvest also improved conditions for cultivations and for the development of earlier-sown oilseed rape crops in many areas. However, this is not enough to offset the dryness of the last six months.

This interactive tool helps show the progress of harvesting winter barley, winter oilseed rape, winter wheat, oats and spring barley across the UK. It also shows national quality and yield information reported to date.

How to use the dashboard

• Use the drop-down menus at the top of the dashboard to select a harvest week and crop. This will allow you to view the national harvested area for that crop (top chart) as well as a regional breakdown (right-hand chart)
• National quality and yield information (left-hand table) is also available for all crops alongside harvest progress comments (map in the centre)
• The line chart below them tracks national harvest progress for the selected crop, compared to previous years
• Use the drop-down menus at the top of the second line chart to view the harvest progress of a particular crop (or all crops) throughout the selected season

Week numbers

These reports include a week number, which helps you compare between years. This is the number of weeks from mid-July, when harvest “typically” starts. In 2025, week 1 is the week ending 9 July.

About the data

The 2025 data is collected on behalf of AHDB by The Andersons Centre. 

The harvest progress and yield information are from a survey of farms across the UK. The sample is chosen to represent the mix of crops (wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape) by region/country; more widely grown crops and higher-producing regions have more coverage.

The farmers in the survey report their yields so far and their farm’s five-year average yield for each crop. The percentage difference between the farmers' reported yield and their five-year averages is applied to the five-year average yield reported by Defra.

Yields are adjusted where moisture is above 14.5% for cereals and 8% for oilseed rape. Moisture levels below 14.5% and 8% are not adjusted.

Information on the quality of the crops is provided by a panel of merchants.

Next report

This is the final report of 2025.

There will be four reports in 2026. The first report of 2026 will be out on 31 July.

Future reports are currently planned for 14 August, 28 August and 25 September 2026, though these dates may change depending on harvest progress and the weather. 

Recommended List harvest results

These reports are separate from AHDB’s Recommended Lists (RL) harvest data, which shows the results from their variety trials.

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