The total area under cereals this year stands at around 264,300ha, just 2,100ha back from 2019.

However, the breakdown of this cereal area has changed dramatically. Provisional BPS application figures, released by the Department of Agriculture this week, show the winter barley area down 31,200ha compared to 2019 and spring barley area up by 44,500ha, bringing the total barley area to around 191,800ha, a 7.4% increase on 2019.

The area of winter wheat decreased by 24,200ha, while the area of spring wheat increased by 7,600ha. This means that total wheat area is back 26% to around 46,500ha.

The total area under oats saw a 5.7% increase to 25,000ha this year. Despite a reduction of 8,400ha in winter area, spring area increased by 9,800ha.

The total area of protein crops increased by 69% this year to around 13,800ha. This was largely driven by a 90% increase in spring bean area to 12,600ha. Total oilseed rape area also increased by 11% this year to 10,200ha.

The area under maize fell by 11% to 14,700ha, while the area under beet is also back 11% to 8,800ha.

The total area under potatoes is broadly similar to 2019 at 8,600ha. However, the area under early crops has increased by 24% to 760ha.