Winter barley harvest in closing stages across UK
Only parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland are regions with significant acreages left to be cut. However, it is envisaged these will be harvested over the coming days.
The harvesting of winter barley progressed quickly, and by 16 July had reached 77% complete, up 67 percentage points from 9 July.
UK-wide, progress is ahead of the past two years but similar to 2022, when winter barley harvesting was 93% complete by July 26.
Yields have been highly variable, ranging from 4.7t-8.3t/ha, with a very clear east/west spit in terms of barley yields recorded in 2025.
Crops grown in Northern Ireland, for example, received rain throughout most of the spring period. As a result, moisture stress was not a growth-limiting factor. And final yields were boosted accordingly.
The relatively dry weather conditions recorded across the UK for most of the 2024/25 growing season has meant that disease levels within all cereal crops have been low.
Overall, the UK winter barley yield is in line with the five-year (2020-2024) average at 6.7t/ha.
However, yields reported on-farm vary from 29% under the five-year average to 19% over.
The impact of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) on 2024/25 winter barley crops has yet to be assessed.
But there is little doubt that farmers have made their minds up on the issue -they are continuing to favour varieties with BYDV tolerance.
And it is envisaged that the trend will continue to build momentum into the future.
Grain quality, though, is generally good. While yields have been low, specific weights have been high. This has also resulted in very low levels of screenings.
Given the hot dry weather in late spring/early summer, it is not surprising that nitrogen levels are also reported as being high.
This may prove challenging for some end-markets, with a majority of winter malting barley required by maltsters in the 1.66-1.85% nitrogen range.
Specific weights are ranging from 61–73 kg/hectolitre (hl), with an average of 65 kg/hl.
Meanwhile, screening retentions (on a 2.25mm sieve) for winter barley are averaging 99%. Nitrogen levels for winter malting barley range from 1.4-2.0%, averaging 1.7% while moisture levels of crops harvested have averaged 14.3%.
There are no reported problems with germination in the winter malting crop, averaging 99%.
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