There was an increase in the production of wheat, oats and barley crops last year, according to latest figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (Wednesday, April 26).
Cereals production rose by 89,900t to 2,547,000t in 2022 compared to corresponding figures for 2021.
The latest CSO statistics paint a mixed picture of higher yields and increases in production across certain crops, but also a drop in the production of potatoes during 2022.
Last year the yield of wheat rose by 0.1t/ha (0.8%), barley fell by 0.1t/ha (1.5%), while oats were up by 0.2t/ha (2.1%).
According to Donal Kelly, a senior statistician with the CSO, there was particularly strong growth in winter wheat which increased by 9.1%, winter oats which increased by 9.7%, and also spring barley which was up 3.1%.
The latest statistical review of cereal production shows that the production of wheat grew by 57,600t, an increase of 8.7%, while barley production rose modestly to 28,900t, up by 1.9%, and oats increased to 3,300t, up 1.4%.
There was also an increase in the production of beans and peas which rose from 54,400t in 2021 to 65,700t in 2022 – which represented an increase of 20.7%.
However, while there was a boost in cereal production there was no similar lift on yields from potatoes.
“The production of potatoes dropped from 407,500t in 2021 to 368,000t in 2022 – 9.7% – based on a 5% reduction in the area sown and a 5% fall in the yield per hectare,” Kelly said.
Overall, the yield of crops showed a drop in spring wheat of 7.4% to 8t/ha in 2022, while the yield of spring barley was up by 3.0%.
The yield of potatoes dropped to 43.4t/ha from 45.6t/ha.
Meanwhile, the figures for June 2022 show that the area farmed for cereals increased by 11,000ha – 4.0% – to 285,700ha when compared with June 2021.
According to the CSO, the area farmed for spring wheat showed the largest increase of 11.9% while the biggest drop was recorded for spring oats which decreased by 9.9%
The area under potatoes also dropped by 400ha or 5.0% to 8,500ha.