There has been an almost 2% drop in the expected yields of the EU’s cereal predicted by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) when compared with the agency’s yield forecast in July.

This downward revision of the JRC’s figures places the EU’s average cereal yields 3.9% behind the five-year average.

The drop in expectations follow a summer of high temperatures and little rain, which the JRC said coincided with grain fill.

The average yields of both barley and wheat crops have been revised upwards from July’s estimation, although the wheat tonnage is expected to be 1.3% down on the five-year average. Beneficial harvesting conditions for winter sown cereals boosted these predictions.

The EU soya bean harvest is set to be 15% lower than the five-year average.

European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski commented on the revised yield expectations by stating that the water and heat stresses across Europe are acting to “worsen significantly previous negative outlook on yields for summer crops”.

Irish yields

The yields of Ireland’s tillage sector are expected to remain ahead of all other EU member states, with average wheat and winter barley yields of 10t/ha and 9.3t/ha respectively.

Rape yields have been predicted to average out at 4.4t/ha.

It was also reported that Ireland’s grasslands are in “fair condition” and that soil moisture deficits have “not substantially impacted growth” when compared with grass growth conditions in previous years.