Guardian: England's "worst recorded cereals harvest". Defra's 8 Oct 2026 provisional release shows wheat up 0.8% to 10.8m t, barley down 11%, oats down 29%, oilseed rape up 43%. Summing its own changes, total cereals fell ~4% and wheat rose; barley and oats are smallest since 2012.
Quoted from a source: “This is the smallest harvest of total barley since 2012.”
DEFRA’s provisional estimates are England-only; the UK final harvest figures are due in December. Based on 1,500 valid farm responses (26% response), the release says hot, limited-rainfall growing conditions hampered the 2026 crop. These are not final UK totals.
Important scope: Defra’s figures are provisional and England-only, based on 1,500 valid farm responses. The full UK harvest estimates, including devolved nations and final England numbers, are due 10 December.