The NFU has launched its annual survey calling on its members to help answer important questions about the 2013 harvest.
The survey of combinable crops, now available online, is the first source of published data on production levels in the UK, and is published up to a month before Defra’s official statistics. It follows on from the UK becoming a net importer of wheat for the first time in 20 years in 2012.
Reflecting issues such as the effect of the extreme weather on cereals and oilseeds, the lower winter crop areas and increased planting of spring crops, and the effect difficult field conditions have had on the crop, the survey looks to give as full a picture as possible of the wheat crop in England by mid-September and the year’s harvest of major combinable crops to date by early October.
NFU chief arable adviser Guy Gagen told Marlborough News Online: “Without the information provided by members it would have simply been impossible to generate an accurate estimate in the past as we rely on members’ input in order to maintain our accurate track record with harvest results.”
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