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For more information on this release:
E-mail: agri@cso.ie Gerard Reilly (+353) 21 453 5700 Angela Hickey (+353) 21 453 5316
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 1393-6867
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Area, Yield and Production of Crops

2016

ProductionCerealsPotatoes
     '000 tonnes
20152,634360
20162,311352
% change-12.3-2.3

Cereal production down 12.3% in 2016

Figure 1 Cereal Production
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Overall production of the three main cereals (wheat, oats and barley) decreased by 12.3% (-323,000 tonnes) to 2,311,000 tonnes in 2016. The total area under cereals decreased by 11,200 hectares (-3.8%) to 280,300 hectares and overall cereal yield decreased by 8.7% to 8.2 tonnes per hectare. Total barley production decreased by 14.9% (-259,000 tonnes) in 2016. See Tables 1- 3. 

The yield of potatoes decreased by 7.9% from 42.3 tonnes per hectare in 2015 to 38.9 tonnes per hectare in 2016 while the area under potatoes increased by 6.1%. This resulted in a drop in production of 8,000 tonnes (-2.3%) to 352,000 tonnes. 

Further comparisons with the 2015 results show that:

  • Wheat production was down by 7.0% (-49,000 tonnes). The area sown increased by 2,600 hectares (+4.0%) but the yield decreased by 10.6%.
  • Oats production was down by 7.3% (-14,000 tonnes).The area sown decreased by 200 hectares (-1.0%) and the yield decreased by 6.4%.
  • Oilseed rape production was down by 14.5% (-6,000 tonnes). The area sown increased by 1,000 hectares (+10.8%) but the yield decreased by 22.8%.
Winter Wheat Spring WheatWinter OatsSpring Oats Winter Barley Spring BarleyBeans and PeasOilseed RapePotatoes
2009553137717416410632224336
201053213780682459782528420
2011793136719832610861656356
20126268268883209412059232
20134221234314934213212349410
201466354886255911722034383
2015610861059371210276940360
201658760110736448367134352
Table 1 Area under Crops
DescriptionJune 2014June 2015June 2016   Change 2015 - 2016
          ' 000 hectares' 000 hectares%
Wheat - total71.665.367.92.64.0
   Winter wheat65.155.360.45.19.3
   Spring wheat6.510.17.5-2.5-25.3
      
Oats - total18.623.423.2-0.2-1.0
   Winter oats10.111.413.21.916.6
   Spring oats8.512.110.0-2.1-17.5
      
Barley - total215.7202.8189.2-13.6-6.7
   Winter barley60.169.874.64.97.0
   Spring barley155.6133.0114.6-18.4-13.9
      
Wheat, oats, barley - total305.9291.6280.3-11.2-3.8
      
Beans and peas3.510.712.51.817.1
Oilseed rape9.48.99.91.010.8
Potatoes9.58.59.00.56.1
Table 2 Yield of Crops
Description201420152016   Change 2015 - 2016
             tonnes per hectaretonnes per hectare%
Wheat - total10.010.79.5-1.1-10.6
   Winter wheat10.211.09.7-1.3-11.9
   Spring wheat8.38.68.0-0.6-6.8
      
Oats - total8.08.47.9-0.5-6.4
   Winter oats8.79.28.3-0.9-9.6
   Spring oats7.37.77.3-0.4-4.9
      
Barley - total8.08.67.8-0.8-8.8
   Winter barley9.310.28.6-1.6-15.4
   Spring barley7.57.77.3-0.4-5.6
      
Wheat, oats, barley - total8.59.08.2-0.8-8.7
      
Beans and peas5.76.55.7-0.8-13.0
Oilseed rape3.64.53.5-1.0-22.8
Potatoes40.542.338.9-3.3-7.9
Table 3 Production of Crops
Description201420152016   Change 2015 - 2016
          ' 000 tonnes' 000 tonnes%
Wheat - total717697648-49-7.0
   Winter wheat663610587-23-3.7
   Spring wheat548660-26-30.3
      
Oats - total150198183-14-7.3
   Winter oats8810511065.3
   Spring oats629373-20-21.5
      
Barley - total1,7311,7391,480-259-14.9
   Winter barley559712644-68-9.5
   Spring barley1,1721,027836-192-18.7
      
Wheat, oats, barley - total2,5982,6342,311-323-12.3
      
Beans and peas20697111.9
Oilseed rape344034-6-14.5
Potatoes383360352-8-2.3

Background Notes

Introduction   

This release presents final estimates of the area, yield and production of the main arable crops in 2016 together with the comparable estimates for 2014 and 2015. The June 2014 – June 2016 estimates for the area under crops shown in Table 1 have been obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Basic Payment Scheme.      

The yield estimates are obtained from a joint survey conducted by Teagasc and the CSO.

Methodology   

The yield figures are given on a “green” (as harvested) basis. The winter wheat yield refers to feed wheat. Similarly, the spring barley yield refers to feed barley. The oilseed rape yield is a weighted average of the winter and spring yield.

The bean and pea yield is the weighted average of pea and bean yield.

For potatoes, the early crop yield was applied to a proportion of the area under potatoes based on an estimate of the area sown under early potato varieties in each county. The main crop yield was applied to the remaining area. 

The State yield figure is generally calculated by multiplying the area figure by the average yield figure at a county level and then aggregating to the State level. The State production figure is then calculated by multiplying the State area, as per the Basic Payment areas from DAFM, by the State yield figure.

As a result of rounding there may be slight discrepancies between the sum (or difference) of the constituent items and the total shown. Percentage changes have been calculated on actual figures.

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