Martin Bridges finished harvest at Moray Estates, Scotland, on Wednesday (24 September), but will be drying wheat for another fortnight.
“We started harvest on 23 July so it was a long drawn-out affair – but we got away quite lightly compared with some other parts of the country,” he said.
A lot of the wheat came in over 20% moisture, but yields were above average at about 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre).
Around 90% of the spring barley had reached malting quality, although the Braemar had suffered some problems with skinning and split grains. Yields were slightly above average at 5.8t/ha (2.35t/acre).
“All in all it’s not been too bad. The rape’s all in and is looking really good – but I am a bit bothered about next year’s wheat as prices are not very clever and we’ve already spent a lot on fertiliser,” said Mr Bridges.
Most farmers had finished harvest in the area, although those further East in Aberdeenshire were slightly further behind, he reckoned.
Crop: Winter wheat
Varieties: Robigus, Alchemy and Glasgow
Area: 271ha (670 acres)
Yield: 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre)
Crop: Spring barley
Varieties: Optic, Oxbridge, Decanter, Toucan and Braemar
Area: 425ha (1050 acres)
Yield: 5.8t/ha (2.35t/acre)
Crop: Winter barley
Varieties: Pearl and Pict
Area: 151ha (373 acres)
Yield: 8t/ha (3.25t/acre)
Variety: Boost
Area: 27ha (67 acres)
Yield: 9.6t/ha (3.9t/acre)
Variety: Saffron
Area: 28ha (70 acres)
Yield: 9.6t/ha (3.9t/acre)
Variety: Volume
Area: 1ha (2.5t/acre)
Yield: 9.9t/ha (4t/acre)
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