Heavy slug pressure is the only slight cloud after week of good weather has allowed Troy Stuart to make good progress with autumn drilling near Exeter, Devon.
"It's been very kind," he said. "We've only been stopped for two days and we're now 70-80% done. A lot of the rest is after grain maize.
"But we've had huge numbers of slugs, and I'd say they're the worst we've ever seen here."
Oilseed rape, this year's 154ha (380 acres) sown to Catana, ES Astrid, and Komando, is always treated with pellets.
"We do it as a matter of course. Otherwise by the time the slugs start getting at the young plants it's usually too late to do anything about it.
"But we've only had to go the once this time because we sowed into moisture and the crop got away well. It grew away from them."
The main problem has been in wheat after oilseed rape, he explained.
"Normally we pellet on a trap basis field by field. But this time we've had to treat every field after rape. The numbers are huge. We've been counting 4-5/sq m dead after treating."
On the plus side the reasonably dry conditions have allowed him to save money on control product.
"We've been using Lynx mini-pellets. They're not so weather-resistant, but they are cheaper."
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