| Cereal and Potato Production 2018 | |||||
| '000 tonnes | |||||
| Wheat | Oats | Barley | Total Cereals | Potatoes | |
| 2017 | 682 | 205 | 1,506 | 2,393 | 412 |
| 2018 | 507 | 122 | 1,225 | 1,854 | 273 |
| % change | -25.7 | -40.4 | -18.7 | -22.5 | -33.8 |
Overall production of the three main cereals (wheat, oats and barley) fell by 539,000 tonnes to 1,854,000 tonnes in 2018. This was due to combined decreases in all three main cereals, including a decrease of 198,000 tonnes in the production of spring barley. See Tables 1- 3.
The yield of potatoes decreased by 26.1% from 44.9 tonnes per hectare in 2017 to 33.2 tonnes per hectare in 2018, resulting in a fall in production of 139,000 tonnes (-33.8%) to 273,000 tonnes.
Further comparisons with the 2017 results show that:
| Winter Wheat | Spring Wheat | Winter Oats | Spring Oats | Winter Barley | Spring Barley | Beans and Peas | Oilseed Rape | Potatoes | |
| 2010 | 532 | 137 | 80 | 68 | 245 | 978 | 25 | 28 | 420 |
| 2011 | 793 | 136 | 71 | 98 | 326 | 1086 | 16 | 56 | 356 |
| 2012 | 626 | 82 | 68 | 88 | 320 | 941 | 20 | 59 | 232 |
| 2013 | 422 | 123 | 43 | 149 | 342 | 1321 | 23 | 49 | 410 |
| 2014 | 663 | 54 | 88 | 62 | 559 | 1172 | 20 | 34 | 383 |
| 2015 | 610 | 86 | 105 | 93 | 712 | 1027 | 69 | 40 | 360 |
| 2016 | 587 | 60 | 110 | 73 | 644 | 836 | 71 | 34 | 352 |
| 2017 | 627 | 55 | 129 | 76 | 592 | 914 | 90 | 42 | 412 |
| 2018 | 485 | 22 | 80 | 42 | 509 | 716 | 23 | 41 | 273 |
| Table 1 Area under Crops | |||||
| Description | June 2016 | June 2017 | June 2018 | Change 2017 - 2018 | |
| ' 000 hectares | ' 000 hectares | % | |||
| Wheat - total | 67.9 | 67.0 | 58.0 | -9.1 | -13.5 |
| Winter wheat | 60.4 | 60.3 | 54.4 | -5.9 | -9.7 |
| Spring wheat | 7.5 | 6.8 | 3.6 | -3.2 | -47.5 |
| Oats - total | 23.2 | 24.4 | 17.8 | -6.7 | -27.3 |
| Winter oats | 13.2 | 14.4 | 10.2 | -4.2 | -29.3 |
| Spring oats | 10.0 | 10.0 | 7.6 | -2.4 | -24.3 |
| Barley - total | 189.2 | 180.2 | 185.2 | 5.0 | 2.8 |
| Winter barley | 74.6 | 65.0 | 57.9 | -7.2 | -11.0 |
| Spring barley | 114.6 | 115.2 | 127.4 | 12.2 | 10.6 |
| Wheat, oats, barley - total | 280.3 | 271.7 | 261.0 | -10.7 | -3.9 |
| Beans and peas | 12.5 | 13.7 | 8.5 | -5.2 | -38.0 |
| Oilseed rape | 9.9 | 10.1 | 10.6 | 0.5 | 5.0 |
| Potatoes | 9.0 | 9.2 | 8.2 | -1.0 | -10.4 |
| Table 2 Yield of Crops | |||||
| Description | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | Change 2017 - 2018 | |
| tonnes per hectare | tonnes per hectare | % | |||
| Wheat - total | 9.5 | 10.2 | 8.7 | -1.4 | -14.0 |
| Winter wheat | 9.7 | 10.4 | 8.9 | -1.5 | -14.3 |
| Spring wheat | 8.0 | 8.2 | 6.2 | -1.9 | -23.5 |
| Oats - total | 7.9 | 8.4 | 6.9 | -1.5 | -18.0 |
| Winter oats | 8.3 | 8.9 | 7.9 | -1.1 | -11.9 |
| Spring oats | 7.3 | 7.6 | 5.6 | -2.1 | -27.1 |
| Barley - total | 7.8 | 8.4 | 6.6 | -1.7 | -20.9 |
| Winter barley | 8.6 | 9.1 | 8.8 | -0.3 | -3.5 |
| Spring barley | 7.3 | 7.9 | 5.6 | -2.3 | -29.1 |
| Wheat, oats, barley - total | 8.2 | 8.8 | 7.1 | -1.7 | -19.3 |
| Beans and peas | 5.7 | 6.6 | 2.7 | -3.9 | -59.4 |
| Oilseed rape | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | -0.3 | -6.6 |
| Potatoes | 38.9 | 44.9 | 33.2 | -11.7 | -26.1 |
| Table 3 Production of Crops | |||||
| Description | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | Change 2017 - 2018 | |
| ' 000 tonnes | ' 000 tonnes | % | |||
| Wheat - total | 648 | 682 | 507 | -175 | -25.7 |
| Winter wheat | 587 | 627 | 485 | -142 | -22.7 |
| Spring wheat | 60 | 55 | 22 | -33 | -59.8 |
| Oats - total | 183 | 205 | 122 | -83 | -40.4 |
| Winter oats | 110 | 129 | 80 | -49 | -37.7 |
| Spring oats | 73 | 76 | 42 | -34 | -44.8 |
| Barley - total | 1,480 | 1,506 | 1,225 | -281 | -18.7 |
| Winter barley | 644 | 592 | 509 | -83 | -14.1 |
| Spring barley | 836 | 914 | 716 | -198 | -21.6 |
| Wheat, oats, barley - total | 2,311 | 2,393 | 1,854 | -539 | -22.5 |
| Beans and peas | 71 | 90 | 23 | -67 | -74.8 |
| Oilseed rape | 34 | 42 | 41 | -1 | -1.9 |
| Potatoes | 352 | 412 | 273 | -139 | -33.8 |
This release presents final estimates of the area, yield and production of the main arable crops in 2018 together with the comparable estimates for 2016 and 2017. The June 2016 – June 2018 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.
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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