The 2014 cereal harvest has been estimated at 2.56m tonnes, up from 2.4m tonnes in 2013. This Teagasc harvest estimate, produced last week, indicates a 7% increase in total harvest output despite a 1% decrease in total planted area.

In its final harvest report for 2014, Teagasc reported that this is the second year in succession in which the national average yields of the main cereals were above the five-year average trend. The report also indicates that winter oats had its highest recorded average national yield ever at 8.6 t/ha (see Table 1). While all average yields were excellent, winter barley and spring wheat average yields were slightly lower in 2014 than in 2013 – a year when both of these crops produced excellent yields.

The Teagasc figures show winter wheat area up 41% relative to 2013, while spring wheat area was down 58%. Winter barley area was up 65% in 2014 but this 23,500ha increase was less than the 29,100ha decrease in spring barley area, which was down 16%. The area sown to winter oats almost doubled in 2014, while the spring wheat area was back 61%.

Total crop production largely followed the area trends with more winter wheat and less spring wheat, more winter barley and less spring barley and more winter oats with less spring oats.

This large harvest output is influenced by the higher proportion of winter cereal planting, especially barley. But the growing season was also favourable and this certainly contributed to both yields and quality, which was also excellent.

Grain quality was excellent in 2014. The Teagasc figures indicate average specific weights for winter and spring wheat to be 74.7 and 73.3 KPH respectively. Average barley values were 67 and 65.9 KPH, while oats did 55.2 and 54.6 KPH for winter and spring respectively.

Average harvest moisture levels were helped by good harvest conditions and all crops showed intake averages below 20% moisture.