Cereal yields are up to 14% above average and of good quality, says Adas about harvest 2015 in its final harvest report published this week.

It says yields were 7-14% above average across all cereals and oilseeds, aided by good crop establishment conditions, adequate moisture for most crops through the spring and summer and sunshine during grainfill.

See also: Defra puts UK wheat harvest at 16.129m tonnes

The quality of the 2015 combinable crops was also generally good, with an average Hagberg falling number of 293 for wheat, together with a mean specific weight of 78.8 kg/hl and a protein level of 11.9%.

Barley quality was also acceptable, with specific weights averaging 66.5 kg/hl, nitrogen contents averaging 1.53% and screenings of 1.5%. Other headlines in the report are:

Wheat

• Yield: National yield estimate of 8.7-8.9 t/ha, a 12-14% increase on the 10-year average (7.8 t/ha)
• Quality: Overall wheat quality is good this season, with average specific weight of 78.8 kg/hl. The average Hagberg falling number is 293 seconds, which is just below the three-year average (297 seconds), with the average protein content at 11.9%, which is above the three-year average (11.8%)

Barley

• Yield: Winter barley – national yield estimate of 7.4 t/ha, a 13% increase on the 10-year average
• Quality: Quality is acceptable with specific weights averaging 66.8 kg/hl, nitrogen content averaging 1.55% and screening levels through a 2.25mm sieve averaging 2.0%

Spring barley

• Yield: National yield estimate of 5.9-6.1 t/ha, a 9-13% increase on the 10-year average
• Quality: Quality was good, with specific weights averaging 66.4 kg/hl, nitrogen content averaging 1.52% and screening levels averaging 1.3%

Oats

• Yield: National yield estimate of 6.1-6.3 t/ha, a 7-10% increase on the 10-year average
• Quality: Overall quality of oats was good. Specific weights were good, typically averaging 54-56kg/hl and ranging between 46-58kg/hl

Winter oilseed rape

• Yield: National yield estimate of 3.8 t/ha, a 13% increase on the 10-year average
• Quality: Quality good, with typical oil contents ranging from 42-48%

Spring oilseed rape

• Yield: National yield estimate of 2.5-2.6 t/ha, which is above the five-year average (2.0 t/ha). Yields ranged between 1.85-3.3 t/ha