Crop updates: August 2025
Soil conditioning - oil radish direct drilled into stubble. Picture taken 27 August.
Our regular round up of the issues affecting crops around Scotland, summarises how crops are developing and what weather and other issues are affecting them. The update provides information on the progress with key field work activities as well as news on the pest, weed and disease problems being noted in crops. The health issues being seen in crops are a key part of the topical update and lets growers and agronomists adjust management practices appropriately.
More details on crops in your area are available at SRUC Adopt-A-Crop
28 August 2025
General Comments
This year’s harvest has been both early and rapid and drought through June caused crops to ripen early and the warm dry weather allowed an uninterrupted flow of combining through all the crops. Winter crop yields and quality seem to have held up well, with most oilseed rape growers reporting very good to exceptional yields this year. For some, wheat has delivered well above expectation too with high specific weights, although for others, yields are below or around the 5-year average with differences between varieties and soil type performance perhaps more noticeable this year. Spring crop yields and quality have been more variable, with reports of high levels of screenings, variable nitrogen levels, and low specific weights in spring barley all of which causing headaches for marketing and meeting contract specifications.
Thoughts will now have turned to planning next year's crops, the establishment of winter oilseed rape has progressed well with early crops through the ground at quite high plant counts, the usual onslaught of flea beetle is yet to be seen. Winter wheat and barley variety selections will likely have already been made, but attention to the 2025 in-field performance should be heeded as some varieties that yielded well had a high cost of keeping diseases at bay.
Regional Comments
ORKNEY
An estimated 70% of spring barley is now harvested which is far ahead of normal for this time of year and is reminiscent of the exceptionally dry seasons of 2023 and 1976. Grain moisture levels are lower than ideal in some instances as it can shatter easily leading to loss of meal during its processing (bruising) for animal feed. Straw has also been baled in excellent conditions which will make it a pleasure to use during the winter where typically it can be very dusty and consolidated. Grassland however would benefit from some rainfall as it is in short supply for some. Direct grass reseeds also seek more moisture.
CAITHNESS
Harvest continues apace in the area with a number of spring barley producers now finished with straw all baled up too. Weather has been extremely favourable over the last two weeks with grain coming in at low moisture. Yield will mostly be down and there are some concerns with malting barley screenings. Spring oats around the area are looking very good and well ahead of last year. Some winter crop preparation is also underway with ploughing in the past few days. Fodder stocks in the area seem to be good with silage and hay bales freely available in the local marketplace.
INVERNESSHIRE
Over the last two weeks there has been some settled and mostly dry weather. The wind has helped with the drying of the crops. Harvesting is well underway now, much of the spring barley crops have been harvested, including all those under our watch. Only the Winter Wheat is left uncut. They are looking ripe and hard, ready to go also. The forecast next week is looking to be patchy rain with temperatures in the high teens.
ABERDEENSHIRE
Screenings seem to be the topic of conversation with growers now, as most of the harvest is complete, with better than expected yields and low moisture contents. Screenings, variable bushel weights and nitrogen’s seem to be the Achillies heel everywhere and as such farmers are struggling to meet malting spec. With the reduced demand for malt, merchants are therefore being selective which is causing issues. The dry weather is causing issues with sowing/emergence of oilseed rape due to lack of moisture, but the forecast of showers & thunder plumps might help that. Potato harvest would be starting now too, but the warm weather maybe causing issues too. Grass has also started to look dried out now in the last 10 days or so, a shower of rain would be a welcome relief, providing it knows when to stop!
BANFF & BUCHAN
Unbelievably we enter the last week of August with harvest 2025 nearing completion in the area. While crops were already earlier than normal at the start of the month, Storm Floris decided to intervene and hastened the ripening process even more. With warm dry weather since then, many farms not only started spring barleys three weeks early but are now finished before they would normally expect to start! While winter barleys and oilseed rapes have been fair, spring barleys are more mixed. Yields have been average although much better than was hoped for a few months ago. Screenings, however, are higher than normal with many farmers busy dressing barley to take it within specification to try and fulfil contracts. The good weather has meant moisture contents have been low however the warm air temperatures mean cooling grain down can be a challenge. Oilseed rapes are being established into warm but very dry seedbeds and the first of the winter barleys are also being sown as growers take advantage of the continued good weather. Potato lifting will begin imminently, and livestock farms are now bemoaning the lack of grass growth as the warm dry weather takes its toll.
FORFAR
Combining is largely complete with a few fields of wheat and spring barley remaining to be cut in later areas. Yields have generally been good, but spring barley has seen problems with higher than usual levels of screenings at a time when the market for malting barley is suppressed. Increased areas of winter oilseed rape have been planted with more still being sown and recent rain will see these crops get off to a good start. Volunteer cereals are being sprayed off in earlier sown OSR crops.
PERTHSHIRE
Harvest is well through although there remain a few crops still to be combined in the higher areas. Yields have been good, but quality of spring barley has been poor with many crops failing to make the grade for malting. Grain has mostly been harvested at lower than usual moisture content which has been a small consolation, and straw yields and prices are holding up. Many are taking the opportunity of an early harvest to get fields soil sampled and any lime deficiencies rectified before drilling winter cereals. OSR is mostly planted and off to a good start.
FIFE
Around 90% of cereal harvest is completed. Winter crops seem to have yielded fair to good, with good quality reported, however, spring cereals namely spring barley has very variable quality with higher screening levels than have been seen in many years alongside some high nitrogen readings. This has made for very difficult marketing as a lot of barley is out with the contract parameters for malting barley. A few more dry days would allow the last of the cereals to be cut and fields of beans are just about ready, so will quickly follow the cereals into the stores. Winter oilseed rape for 2026 harvest is sown, and early sown fields are through the ground with few reports of flea beetle damage. Pre-emergence weed control has been applied, and with the last few days light rain, should be actively killing germinating weeds.
LOTHIANS
With little more than 11mm rain for many places throughout August, harvest has continued at pace with only a few remaining crops to clear. Baling too has progressed rapidly, and the early finish has given the option for the timely establishment of oilseed rape following wheat. A lot of straw is already heading south into England where the drier conditions have limited availability there. Earliest sown rape crops are through the ground despite the dry conditions and with changeable weather forecast hopefully those drier seedbeds will get the moisture required for even emergence. Malting barley has once again proved difficult with large variations in screenings reported and prioritising segregation of crop in store where possible to minimise deductions. Wheat yields appear very much aligned to soil type this year with boldest samples reaching 80kg/hl although it’s too early to draw conclusions on overall performance.
BORDERS
Many growers have finished harvest and are on to baling straw and getting oilseed rape sown. In general, yields and straw volumes will have exceeded grower’s expectations across all crops. For some it has been the best wheat and oilseed rape yields for many years, for others, yields are below or around the 5-year average. The localised nature of rainfall, soil type and the sowing date of spring crops being the main cause of variation. Nitrogen levels in malt spring barley are mostly in specification; however, screenings are a significant issue for many with few growers escaping penalty deductions for greater than 10% with reports of greater than 20%. With the early harvest and maltster rejections many growers are looking to maximise the acreage of autumn sown crops with an increase in oilseed rape and 2nd wheat to minimise spring sowings. Straw values have dropped back from the start of harvest with values around £60-70/ton for barley straw.
LANARKSHIRE
The dry, warmer weather has held steady across Lanarkshire which has allowed all winter crops to be harvested unseasonally early. The harvest is well through on the spring crops also, with only a few fields still in crop across the region. Grass is still in abundance with multi cut systems well through onto 4th cut, grass reseeds, and forage crops are growing well. The weather is set to change with rain forecast in the oncoming week.
AYRSHIRE
The spring barley in the observation fields have now been harvested, straw baled and most of the bales have been cleared from the fields across Ayrshire in the past fortnight. The very dry weather allowed for a long stretch of field work to be done, with that dry spell only recently broken by some short showers. Post harvest cultivations have begun with some farms beginning to establish EFA green cover mixes as well as preparing to establish autumn crops. Water scarcity at some points during the growing season has in some cases knocked crop yields. There was also some lodging seen in barley crops prior to harvest.
Posted by SRUC on 03/09/2025
