BRITISH WHEAT AREA DOWN, MINISTRY CENSUS SHOWS A total of 1.886 mln hectares was sown to wheat in Britain, excluding Northern Ireland, up to December 1, 1986 for the 1987 crop, a Ministry of Agriculture census shows. It compares with 1.925 mln planted in the same period 1985. The barley area was unchanged at 952,000 ha, but oilseed rape increased to 393,000 from 333,000 ha.