At country level, the yield per hectare of organically farmed winter wheat was 30 percent less in 2018 than in 2017. With regard to spring wheat, the corresponding figure was a decrease of 34 percent, and with regard to spring barley and oats, the decrease was 30 percent and 40 percent respectively. Where they had a choice, farmers still opted to harvest the best parts of the crop acreages as grain and the most poorly developed parts as silage.

Significant drop in organically farmed field beans and winter rape

The yield of organically farmed field beans was estimated at 1 170 kilograms per hectare at country level. This is 59 percent lower than the previous year, 62 percent lower than the five-year average, and the smallest yield reported in the 15 years that field beans have been part of the crop yield survey. Field beans are a drought-sensitive crop, and damage caused by aphids and broad bean beetles was also more severe than usual.

The yield of organically farmed winter rape was estimated at 1 280 kilograms per hectare at country level, down by 45 percent compared with the previous year and by 44 percent compared with the five-year average. Apart from the drought and the heat, insect damage was also stated as a reason for the low harvest levels.

Production of organic table potatoes on a level with 2017

The total production of table potatoes from acreage with organic farming was estimated at 35 200 tonnes at country level, which is on a level with the 2017 total production, but 41 percent more than the average in the last five years. It was possible to sell almost 8 percent of the total yield of table potatoes with an organic label.

Production levels in organic and non-organic farming

A more detailed report on this survey and the results for individual crops is published in Statistical Report JO 14 SM 1901, and is available at Statistics Sweden’s website www.scb.se under Agriculture, forestry and fishing and at the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s website www.jordbruksverket.se under Statistics. Yields per hectare for various crops and in various regions are compared here between organic and non-organic farming.

More about the statistics

More data about the statistics is available in a special quality declaration on the Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Board of Agriculture websites.

Previous publications

Data on yields and production from organic and non-organic farming has been collected since 2003. The results are presented in Statistical Reports, series JO 14. The statistics are based on data from farmers who apply these two forms of farming in practice.