Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2026
Final results from the 2026 June Agricultural Census on land use, crop areas, livestock and the people working on agricultural holdings. Modular results on cattle housing, technology, feed supplements, and peatlands also included.
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Increase in winter planting while spring crops fall from decrease in barley
Winter crops (wheat, winter barley, and winter oats) are typically sown in autumn and grow during the winter. Spring crops (spring barley and spring oats) are generally sown between January and March.
The total area used to grow winter crops increased by 6.9% compared with the five-year average. There were increases in the area planted with wheat (8.4%), winter oats (16%), and winter barley (1.5%) when compared with the five-year average.
The total area used to grow spring crops decreased by 16% compared with the five-year average. This was largely due to a decrease in the area used to grow spring barley that saw a 17% decrease compared with the five-year average and an 18% decrease compared with 2025. Spring oats also decreased by 1.0% compared with the five-year average.
Figure 2: Area of winter and spring planting of cereals, 2026 and five-year average (2021-2025). Note some data for 2022 were estimated based on administrative data and results in adjacent years.
Contact
agric.stats@gov.scot