England cereals and oilseeds harvests ranked, harvest 2026
In volume terms across the five crops we look at in this analysis, 2026 is now the worst harvest on record, pushing 2020 into second place.
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A ranking of harvests since 1984 by overall volume for all wheat, spring and winter barley, oats and oilseed rape. Data from before 1999 is derived from multiplying UK yields with England crop areas, as Defra do not publish production totals prior to 1999 for England.
In 2026 England was hit by an unprecedented series of heatwaves in May, June and July, following a very dry April then record-breaking lack of rainfall in July, the driest on record in England and Wales. The summer as a whole was the warmest on record, beating 2025 into second place.
This combination of extreme heat and incredibly dry weather hit yields, limiting grain fill and crop development, reducing overall harvest volumes. In volume terms across the five crops we look at in this analysis, 2026 is now the worst harvest on record, pushing 2020 into second place.
Extreme rainfall in the autumn and winters of 2019/20 and 2023/24 had a major impact on arable crop production for harvests in 2020 and 2024, making these the second worst and fourth worst harvests on record for England, with 2025 lying third after last years’ drought. This means that four of the five worst harvests on record in England have occurred this decade following periods of extreme weather. Climate change is projected to bring warmer, wetter winters to England, as well as hotter, drier summers.