Scottish Harvest Winds Down as Cereal Yields Disappoint
The harvest season in Scotland is wrapping up well for potato farmers, but cereal yields are lagging behind due to lower production and volatile global grain markets.
Potato lifting has been progressing steadily across much of Scotland, with the first frosty morning reported this past week in the Borders. The warm dry sunny days have allowed harvesters to continue lifting potatoes, despite some delays to skin set.
The AHDB has released its final harvest progress report for 2026, showing estimated UK average yields for main cereal and oilseed crops. Wheat is forecast at 6.9t/ha, down from the historic 10-year average of 7.9t/ha and last year's figure of 7.2t/ha. Winter barley also comes in at 6.9t/ha, matching the 10-year average.
However, spring barley yields are lower at 4.8t/ha, compared to last year's 5.4t/ha and the 10-year average of 5.7t/ha. Oats produced 4.6t/ha, down from 4.9t/ha in 2025 and a ten-year average of 5.5t/ha. Oilseed rape was the only crop to do better than last year's figure at 4.0t/ha.