AN NFU harvest survey predicts the average wheat yield for the UK harvest 2014 will be a record high, following a summer of near perfect growing conditions for the crop.

It is predicted that the country’s wheat harvest will weigh in at more than 8.6 tonnes per hectare, the largest ever and 16 per cent more than 2013.

But as regulation from the EU Commission removes and restricts vital active ingredients in crop protection products, the NFU continues to lobby for a different way of regulating to allow for more harvests like this year.

The perfect summer for growing conditions contrasted the wettest winter and third warmest spring on record earlier this year, creating favourable conditions for disease in crops. But disease was kept at bay with careful management and the appropriate use of available crop protection products and ensured not only healthy thriving plants but a high-quality yield.

NFU combinable crops board chairman Mike Hambly said: “This year’s wheat harvest shows how dependent crop yield is on the weather.”