Wheat production in Ireland rose by 68.5% - some 270,000t - in 2021 when compared with the year previous, which had been a poor year for tillage, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Analysis of the CSO’s data would suggest that the increase was driven by both a higher overall area being planted with wheat and a rise in the average yield of wheat crops by 2.3t/ha.

Other tillage crops also posted higher output volumes, with the combined category of peas and beans the only one to see a drop in 2021 in comparison with 2020.

Barley

Barley output saw a rise of 8.8% on 2020’s figures, despite a decline in the area sown. There was 126,000t of extra barley harvested last year when compared with the previous year.

Oats also saw growth of just one quarter in output, outpacing the growth in the area under oats, which had just been above 10%.

Beans and peas was the only category of the tillage sector to see the volumes produced decline last year.

In 2021, the combined output of these two legume crops dropped 17.2%, although production still managed to stay above 2019 levels.

The country’s potato production also rose to 407,500t in 2021, with yields back up after a challenging harvest the year previous to surpass 45t/ha.