UK: Crop planting update for wheat, barley, and oilseed rape

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has just released a crop planting update for the UK, referencing winter wheat, winter barley and winter oilseed rape (OSR). At the end of November, 87% of the UK’s winter wheat crop was in good/excellent condition, ahead of 84% at the same point last year. Only 1% of the crop was said to be in poor/very poor condition, and 1% had either not yet been planted or emerged. Drilling is almost complete, with 37% of wheat being drilled in September, 55% in October, and 8% in November. Due to the favourable weather conditions over autumn, and some early harvesting of maize and root crops, there has been a slight increase in winter wheat area plantings. Overall, the crop has established well. With more rain over the last few weeks, there have been reports of waterlogging in some parts of the West Midlands. The window for winter planting is fast closing and some small areas may not be planted until the spring. Due to continued high ...