The 2024 Honours List: Six Crops, Four Champions
Yield is farming's purest efficiency score: tonnes harvested per hectare, straight from the Eurostat apro_cpsh1 yield table (YLD_HUMD_EU_T_HA). In 2024 the EU-27's six biggest arable crops each had a clear national champion — and the trophies landed in only four countries.
Ireland took the two cereal crowns: common wheat at 8.14 t/ha ahead of Germany's 7.11, and barley at 7.07 ahead of Germany's 6.39. Denmark won triticale (6.22 t/ha) and potatoes (45.84 t/ha). Germany lifted the sugar beet crown at 83.90 t/ha, and Spain topped grain maize at 12.12 t/ha. No country collected more than two first places.
Several races were tight. Denmark's potatoes beat Germany's by 0.82 t/ha (45.84 against 45.02), and Germany's wheat edge over Denmark was 0.07 t/ha (7.11 against 7.04). Runners-up matter here: each of the six crowns was decided inside a cluster of north-western farming nations. Our companion per-hectare explainers (How Much Wheat Can One Hectare Grow? and the rest of the series) go crop by crop for beginners.
Top national yields per crop, EU-27, 2024, dataset apro_cpsh1. Yields in tonnes per hectare at EU standard humidity.
| Crop | 2024 champion | Yield (t/ha) | Runner-up | Yield (t/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common wheat | Ireland | 8.14 | Germany | 7.11 |
| Barley | Ireland | 7.07 | Germany | 6.39 |
| Sugar beet | Germany | 83.90 | Austria | 79.89 |
| Grain maize | Spain | 12.12 | Germany | 10.05 |
| Triticale | Denmark | 6.22 | Germany | 5.69 |
| Potatoes | Denmark | 45.84 | Germany | 45.02 |
Ireland's Double — Topped the Table on a Weak Wheat Year
Ireland is the only 2024 champion in two crops, and both are cereals. Its common wheat yield of 8.14 t/ha beat Germany (7.11) and Denmark (7.04); its barley yield of 7.07 t/ha beat Germany (6.39) and Belgium (6.24). For a small cereal sector inside the EU's biggest wheat exporter (France), that is a remarkable per-hectare scorecard.
The striking part is that 2024 was a poor Irish wheat year by Irish standards. The decade runs 10.00 (2015), 8.99, 9.46, 8.37, 9.38, 7.76 (2020), 10.08, a peak of 10.43 in 2022, 8.66 — and 8.14 in 2024. That is the second-lowest Irish wheat yield of the decade, below every year except 2020, and still comfortably the EU's best.
The barley series tells the same story: 8.17 t/ha in 2015, through a 6.38 trough in 2018, back up to 8.19 and 8.14 in 2021-2022, then 6.57 and 7.07. Ireland's mild, humid, grassland climate is built for leaf growth and grazed systems; when its cereal yields have a bad year, they fall from a height other member states rarely reach.
Irish wheat and barley yields 2015-2024, tonnes per hectare, dataset apro_cpsh1. Wheat peaked in 2022 at 10.43.
| Year | Ireland wheat (t/ha) | Ireland barley (t/ha) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 10.00 | 8.17 |
| 2016 | 8.99 | 7.40 |
| 2017 | 9.46 | 7.95 |
| 2018 | 8.37 | 6.38 |
| 2019 | 9.38 | 8.25 |
| 2020 | 7.76 | 6.97 |
| 2021 | 10.08 | 8.19 |
| 2022 | 10.43 | 8.14 |
| 2023 | 8.66 | 6.57 |
| 2024 | 8.14 | 7.07 |
The 84-Tonne Beet: Germany Hits a Decade High
If wheat makes Ireland's list, sugar beet makes Germany's. German fields lifted 83.90 t/ha in 2024 — the only national figure in the EU above 80 tonnes per hectare, or 8.39 kilograms per square metre. Austria followed with 79.89, France with 79.18, Spain with 77.08, Belgium with 75.64 and the Netherlands with 75.50.
2024 was also Germany's best beet year of the decade. The series runs 72.17 (2015), 76.23, 83.75 (2017), a 63.28 crash in 2018, 72.74, 74.15, 81.77, 71.17, 79.73 — and 83.90 in 2024, edging out the 2017 mark to set the decade high. Beet yields swing hard with harvest weather: 20 tonnes per hectare separated Germany's best and worst beet years.
The high yield fed a record-scale crop. EU-27 sugar beet production reached 121 644.8 thousand tonnes in 2024, 27.2% above 2015, and Germany alone accounted for 36 682.2 thousand tonnes — 30.2% of the EU total and the production crown it took from France in the 2023-2024 finals. Volume crown and yield crown, same country, same year.
German sugar beet yield 2015-2024, tonnes per hectare, dataset apro_cpsh1. 2024 is the decade high, just above 2017.
| Year | Germany sugar beet (t/ha) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 72.17 |
| 2016 | 76.23 |
| 2017 | 83.75 |
| 2018 | 63.28 |
| 2019 | 72.74 |
| 2020 | 74.15 |
| 2021 | 81.77 |
| 2022 | 71.17 |
| 2023 | 79.73 |
| 2024 | 83.90 |
Irrigation's Prize: Spain's Maize Never Dips Below 11.3
Grain maize is the crop where climate engineering shows clearest. Spain led the EU in 2024 with 12.12 t/ha, ahead of Germany (10.05), Italy (9.97), Austria (9.90), Greece (9.67), Portugal (9.48) and France (9.20) — an all-southern-and-German leaderboard. Eurostat publishes no official EU-27 aggregate yield line for maize, so every league figure comes from the member states that report it.
Spain's maize yield has not dropped below 11.32 t/ha at any point in the decade: the series runs 11.46, 11.33, 11.32, 11.92, 11.73, 12.26, a 12.83 peak in 2021, 11.42, 11.82 and 12.12 in 2024. That is a corridor of about 1.5 t/ha across ten harvests — the signature of irrigated production buffered against rainfall shocks.
France, mostly rain-fed by comparison, swings much wider: 8.28, 8.11, 9.97 (2017), 8.79, 8.48, 7.94, 9.91, a 7.45 trough in 2022, 9.77 and 9.20 in 2024. French maize yields have run the 7.45-9.97 band all decade while Spain never left its own. The contrast is no accident: Spanish maize stands almost entirely on irrigated land, French maize mostly on rain-fed — same crop, two yield worlds.
Spanish and French grain maize yields 2015-2024, tonnes per hectare, dataset apro_cpsh1. Spain stayed inside 11.32-12.83 all decade.
| Year | Spain maize (t/ha) | France maize (t/ha) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 11.46 | 8.28 |
| 2016 | 11.33 | 8.11 |
| 2017 | 11.32 | 9.97 |
| 2018 | 11.92 | 8.79 |
| 2019 | 11.73 | 8.48 |
| 2020 | 12.26 | 7.94 |
| 2021 | 12.83 | 9.91 |
| 2022 | 11.42 | 7.45 |
| 2023 | 11.82 | 9.77 |
| 2024 | 12.12 | 9.20 |
Why No Country Wins Everything: Climate Specialisation
The honours list sorts itself by climate zone. The maritime and temperate north-west — Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany — owns the cereal, beet and potato crowns. The Mediterranean owns heat: Spain in grain maize, with Italy, Greece, Portugal and France filling most of the rest of the maize top eight. The champions are not different in effort; they are different in what their weather reliably delivers.
The size of the national spreads proves the point. Barley yields ran from Ireland's 7.07 t/ha down to Hungary's 5.45 among the top reporting field; grain maize from Spain's 12.12 to France's and Slovenia's 9.20; potatoes from Denmark's 45.84 to Spain's 32.11; triticale from Denmark's 6.22 to Italy's 4.55. One crop, one EU, wildly different hectare economics — and the leagues shown here list only the top of the reporting field.
And yield champions are rarely volume champions. France grew the most wheat in 2024 — 26 606.9 thousand tonnes, 22.3% of the EU-27 crop — but yielded 6.02 t/ha, seventh in this table. Germany is the rare case where the two tables agree on beet: the yield crown at 83.90 t/ha and 36 682.2 thousand tonnes of volume, 30.2% of the EU total. In potatoes the tables split again: Denmark grows more per hectare (45.84) while Germany grows most in absolute terms (12 703.3 thousand tonnes, 25.0%). Reading the yield table alongside the volume table is exactly how the per-hectare series and this honours list fit together: one ranks efficiency, the other scale, and Europe deliberately keeps both.
Champion against eighth-placed reporting yield, 2024, tonnes per hectare, dataset apro_cpsh1. Gap = champion minus eighth-placed figure shown in this article's league tables.
| Crop | Champion 2024 | Eighth-placed 2024 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common wheat | Ireland 8.14 t/ha | Bulgaria 5.96 t/ha | 2.18 t/ha |
| Barley | Ireland 7.07 t/ha | Hungary 5.45 t/ha | 1.62 t/ha |
| Sugar beet | Germany 83.90 t/ha | Denmark 74.13 t/ha | 9.77 t/ha |
| Grain maize | Spain 12.12 t/ha | Slovenia 9.20 t/ha | 2.92 t/ha |
| Triticale | Denmark 6.22 t/ha | Italy 4.55 t/ha | 1.67 t/ha |
| Potatoes | Denmark 45.84 t/ha | Spain 32.11 t/ha | 13.73 t/ha |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country tops the EU yield tables most often in 2024?
Two countries tied with two crowns each: Ireland led common wheat (8.14 t/ha) and barley (7.07), Denmark led triticale (6.22) and potatoes (45.84). Germany won sugar beet (83.90) and Spain won grain maize (12.12). No member state collected more than two first places.
What is the highest yield per hectare in the EU?
German sugar beet, at 83.90 tonnes per hectare in 2024 — the only national figure above 80 t/ha, and a decade high for Germany, just above its 2017 mark of 83.75. It was also Germany's best beet year of the decade.
Was 2024 a good year for Ireland's wheat?
By Irish standards, no: 8.14 t/ha was Ireland's second-lowest wheat yield of the decade, behind only 2020's 7.76, and well below the 10.43 peak of 2022. It was still the highest yield in the EU-27 — Ireland wins even in its weak years.
Why does Spain lead maize yields in the EU?
Irrigation. Spain's grain maize yield has stayed between 11.32 and 12.83 t/ha throughout the decade while rain-fed France swung between 7.45 and 9.97. Spain's 12.12 t/ha in 2024 came ahead of Germany (10.05) and Italy (9.97) — and Eurostat publishes no official EU-27 aggregate yield line for maize, so the league is built entirely from national reporting.
Source data extracted from Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1.
This article was generated using AI. The content is based on Eurostat data and is provided as a starting point — please verify all data with the original source.
