BOTH livestock numbers and the area of winter-planted cereals are down in the latest Scottish Agricultural Survey results.

The Scottish Government's Chief Statistician released the latest results from the December Agricultural Survey on Wednesday (March 14), showing the area of winter-sown crops in December 2017 as down 11% on last December, at 174,000 hectares.

There were 93,000 hectares of wheat, down 11%, and 42,000 hectares of winter barley, 20% down on 2016 and the lowest since the 1970s. There were also reductions in the area planted with oats and oilseed rape. It was suggested, however, that the low areas of winter-planted crops were likely to be made up for by higher spring plantings.

Cattle numbers fell by 1% to 1.69 million, comprised of a slight decrease in beef cattle, down 1.3%, but a small increase in dairy cattle, up 0.3%.

December sheep numbers fell 3% to 4.91 million. Pig numbers fell 6% to 345,000, and poultry numbers fell by1%.

The amount of hay produced during 2017 fell by 3%, further to the falls in the previous two years. Grass silage production remaining steady at 6.88 million tonnes. On commercial farms there were an estimated 42,000 tractors, 4000 combine harvesters and 942 milking parlours.

Average rent prices were estimated to have increased slightly to £39 per hectare. The average for LFA land remained at £25 per hectare, with non-LFA land increasing to £136 per hectare. These averages include those who have not had reviews as well as those who have had above average increases, and are also affected by changes in the profile of the tenanted sector.

NFU Scotland’s combinable crops chairman Ian Sands said: “The figures released today reinforce what farmers have been telling us over the last few months. With winter crop plantings down by 11% from autumn 2016, it is the lowest since 2008.

“This downturn in winter sowing is largely due to the dreadful harvest suffered by many farmers throughout Scotland causing fields to not be cleared in time and poor planting conditions from the persistent rain during the summer and autumn months.

“It isn’t just the winter crops which will be affected by this disruption," said Mr sands. "Planned rotations have been disrupted which will have ongoing impacts on yields and on the scheduling of field work, including harvesting.

“Many farmers will be facing ongoing costs to their businesses as they will be unable to supply some of the crops that they had expected to and will need to find alternatives for the crops they grow instead. This is on top the fact that the seed bought for winter crops, not planted, will have to be stored in the hope of doing so this coming autumn with replacement seed at an extra cost.”

AHDB cereals and oilseeds knowledge exchange manager Gavin Dick stressed that it was not all bad news, as spring plantings were likely to increase proportionately, and growers were' quite relaxed' about a reduced autumn drilled area as new spring barley varieties such as Laureate were offering significant yield increases over previous spring varieties.

"The issue will be the availability of spring seed due to extra demand and quality issues caused by last year’s difficult harvest," said Mr Dick.

“The main challenge for growers going forward will be to re-establish their rotations and ensure they have a viable entry for oilseed rape in autumn 2018, which will be exacerbated by the later spring we are now experiencing. Some growers have made the decision to use fallow and or cover crops, but careful calculations will have to be done to ensure margins are protected in the longer term.”

Releasing the figures, the Statisticians's office stressed that they were produced by staff free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The full statistical publications can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/03/5773