Early start for harvest 2025 – week 1 harvest progress report: Grain Market Daily

• UK feed wheat futures (Nov-25) closed up £1.50/t (0.9%) at  £177.00/t. The May-26 contract was also up £1.50/t (0.8%) on the previous day closing at £189.75/t
• Domestic feed wheat followed global prices higher. Paris milling wheat (Dec-25) closed up 2.1%, while Chicago milling wheat (Dec-25) gained 1.4%. Markets are awaiting the USDA’s July report on world supply and demand, due to be released later today
• Paris rapeseed futures (Nov-25) gained €2.50/t (0.5%) and closed at €476.50/t. This echoed gains in wider oilseed markets. Winnipeg canola futures (Nov-25) moved up yesterday 0.6%, with Chicago soyabeans futures (Nov-25) up 0.7%

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AHDBs first harvest report of 2025 was released today, with data collected up until 9 July by The Andersons Centre on behalf of AHDB.

Since harvest 2024 these reports have used a representative panel of farmers to monitor progress, so some caution is needed when comparing to earlier years.

Harvest 2025 is off to the earliest start since at least 2006 (the earliest available report).

Long, dry spells during the spring combined with high temperatures have accelerated progress, with some winter barley crops reportedly cut in June.

Heavy rain over the weekend of 5–6 July briefly paused operations, but harvest has since resumed.

Winter barley harvesting is already complete on some farms, while others are preparing for winter wheat or moving directly into oilseed rape.

Winter barley

Nationally, 10% of the crop was harvested by 9 July, with activity concentrated in the eastern and south eastern regions.

The eastern region has seen the most progress at 38% harvested, though reports vary from farms just beginning to those that have finished.

In the South East, 19% of the crop is harvested. While not formally captured in the survey results, anecdotal reports suggest that harvesting has also begun in parts of the East Midlands and South West.

In Northern and Western regions, harvest is expected to start this week into next.

Yield reports are generally positive, supported by favourable dry weather during the late crop development phase.

The UK national yield is currently estimated at 6.9 t/ha, which is 2% above the five-year average.

Reported yields so far range from 6.8–7.0 t/ha. However, it can be expected that these figures will change as more data is collected.

Moisture levels in harvested samples are averaging 13.6%. Straw volumes are reportedly low, with crops described as short.

Quality data remains limited due to the early stage of harvest, with further detail expected in subsequent reports.

Winter oilseed rape (WOSR)

While some oilseed rape crops have been cut, no formal progress has been reported by survey participants.

Initial anecdotal reports indicate variable yields, but data is currently too limited to provide definitive averages.

More detailed yield and quality information will be available in upcoming updates as harvest advances.

The next harvest report is scheduled for 25 July.

Please note that these harvest progress reports are separate from AHDB’s Recommended Lists harvest data, which includes results from their variety trials.

For top tips this harvest, visit AHDB’s Harvest Toolkit.

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