This reporting period from October 2014 to January 2015 covers the late states of sugar beets(December harvest) and the early vegetative stages of winter wheat, winter barley, and rapeseed. The country experienced unusually favorable weather conditions with an increase of the CropWatch agroclimatic indicators,especially rainfall (up 36% compared to average). As shown by the NDVIprofiles, national NDVI values were well above average and even above the five-year maximum (except for a sharp drop at the beginning of October).According to the crop condition map based on NDVI, more than 90% of the countryrecorded higher than average NDVI from October to January. The eastern and southeast regions presented a NDVI decrease from November to December due to excess water, but have since recovered. This spatial pattern is also reflected by the maximum VCI in the different areas, with a VCIx of 0.9 for the country overall. The CropWatch agroclimatic and agronomic indices indicate above average temperature (TEMP, +2.1°C), while radiation (RADPAR, -8%) was below average.Due to adequate rainfall and suitable temperatures, biomass at the nationalscale is expected to increase by 16% compared with the last five-year average, reflecting the above-mentioned crop conditions. Overall, the agronomic indicators all indicate rather favorable conditions for the winter crop areas of the United Kingdom.

Figure3.14. United Kingdom crop condition, October2014-January 2015

(a)Cropcondition development graph based on NDVI    b)Maximum VCI

(c)Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA      (d)NDVI profiles