Warming will make Scotland the bread basket of Europe

Climate change is poised to transform Scottish farming, boosting yields of oilseed rape, wheat, barley and oats by 30% within 40 years, according to a new report.

A study by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and the Rothamsted Research centre in Hertfordshire predicts that rising temperatures and levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will create ideal growing conditions and turn Scotland into the bread basket of Europe.

Using computer modelling based on global warming trends, scientists calculated that by 2050, yields could rise by about 1m tonnes a year, generating up to