UK wheat yields are down, while rapeseed yields are up: Grain Market Daily

• UK feed wheat futures (Nov-25) closed down £1.05/t (0.6%) at £177.70/t. The May-26 contract was down £0.75/t (0.4%) on the previous day closing at £189.40/t
• The price of domestic feed wheat fell in line with the downward trend in Paris futures prices. Paris milling wheat futures (Dec-25) closed down 0.8%, while Chicago milling wheat (Dec-25) closed unchanged. Yesterday’s US weekly export report provided slight support for Chicago wheat futures, while Paris wheat futures were under pressure from price competition with the Black Sea region
• Paris rapeseed futures (Nov-25) fell €2.75/t (0.6%) and closed at €482.50/t. Winnipeg canola futures (Nov-25) moved down yesterday 0.3%, while Chicago soyabeans futures (Nov-25) closed up 0.2%

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AHDB’s second harvest report of 2025 was released today, with data collected up until 23 July by The Andersons Centre on behalf of AHDB.

After a quick start, progress has slowed down due to wetter weather.

Winter wheat

The winter wheat harvest is 11% complete as of 23 July, up just 6 percentage points on the previous week. Progress is ahead of the past two years but at a similar stage to 2022 when 11% was cut by 26 July.

Early yields are reported to be down 11% on the five-year (2020-2024) average in the UK, at 6.9t/ha. There is significant variation in yields both between and in regions.

While yields of wheat have so far been disappointing, quality is reported to be good. Protein contents are often 14.0% or higher for samples processed so far.

The average protein levels for UK Flour Millers group 1 varieties in 2024 was 12.5%. This is encouraging though will need to be monitored as harvest progression means the volume of samples processed so far is low.

Winter oilseed rape

The oilseed rape harvest was 54% complete as at 23 July, up from 21% in the week ending 16 July. Progress harvesting winter oilseed rape is behind last year, when 73% of the crop had been harvested by this point.

The 2025 UK average yield is estimated to be 3.76t/ha, 21% above the five-year average UK yield of 3.11t/ha. Yields are up in all regions reported so far, except Wales.

The biggest increases are seen in the Eastern and South Eastern regions at 39% and 27% above the five-year average, respectively.

Quality of oilseed rape is reportedly good. Oil content is averaging around 45%, with a range of 42%-46%.

Winter barley

The winter barley harvest was 92% complete by 23 July, across the farms surveyed. Scotland and Northern Ireland are currently the only countries where progress is not reported to be 100%.

Yields of winter barley have been highly variable ranging from 4.7t/ha to 8.3t/ha. Overall, the UK winter barley yield is in line with the five-year average at 6.7t/ha.

Looking ahead

Continued wetter weather could pose a risk to some quality aspects e.g. for milling wheat or yields e.g. for oilseed rape. This will need to be monitored. The next harvest report is scheduled for the 08 August.

Competition for winter-sown areas between feed wheat and rapeseed could increase due to lower wheat yields and higher rapeseed yields.

But what about the price parity between the two crops for the 2026 harvest? We will analyse this in an upcoming edition of Grain market daily later in August.

Please note that these harvest progress reports are separate from our 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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