Poor wheat harvest will lead to imports increase

This year’s wheat harvest is likely to be smaller than last year in the face of extreme weather, farmers have warned.

The overall harvested area on farms polled by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is set to be almost 30 per cent lower than in 2012. Figures have already shown that the area planted with winter wheat was down by a quarter on the previous year.

The reduction comes after bad weather, including flooding and severe snowfalls, since autumn 2012 battered crops, the NFU said.

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If the results of the snapshot poll, which quizzed 76 farmers covering 40,000 acres of land, are repeated nationally, wheat production will be below average for the second year in a row, the farming organisation said.

Last year’s wheat harvest had lower volumes and quality because of weather extremes, with months of drought followed by downpours and flooding.

A separate NFU survey reveals that nearly half of arable farmers (45 per cent) feel less confident about the prospects for their farm businesses in the next 12 months compared with last year.

Andrew Watts, the NFU’s combinable crops chairman, said: “A myriad of factors have hit arable farms this year, from the extreme weather through to news that there will be restrictions on neonicotinoids to come in the future.

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“Our poll is a snapshot but it is extremely worrying that planted area remaining viable for 2013 harvest on those farms looks set to be 29 per cent smaller than last year.

“If this plays out nationally, we will be below average production for the second year in a row.”

Gordon Polson, director of the Federation of Bakers, said he expected more wheat to be imported this year than in a normal year to satisfy the demands of bread makers.

He said: “The implication for bakers who need quality, high-protein wheat to make bread is they will have to import. The good news is that in the rest of the world, certainly in the northern hemisphere, it looks like there will be a good harvest so the quantity should be there so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem sourcing wheat but more cost to transporting it.

“I don’t know if it will have an impact on the price of a loaf. The cost of a loaf is down to retailers but we’re not expecting a huge impact on our costs.”