Rapeseed plantings hit record in England

England farmers planted a record area of winter rapeseed for this year's harvest, and joined Spanish farmers in lifting wheat sowings at the expense of barley acres.

England's farmers, responsible for the bulk of UK grain production, sowed 589,000 hectares of rapeseed, a rise of some 9% on plantings the previous year.

The increase follows a spell of relatively resilient rapeseed prices which are supported by strong global demand for other oilseeds such as palm oil and soyoil.

Plantings of soft wheat jumped to 1.81 million hectares, 10.9% higher than that the previous year and some 900,000 hectares above the 10-year average.

"Good weather conditions at the time of drilling contributed to these increased areas," the UK farm ministry, Defra, said.

In Spain, sowings of soft wheat have risen by 7.3% to 1.32m hectares.

Prospects for the grain harvest in Spain, which is particularly prone to dry weather, have been improved by abundant winter rain.