“It was coming off quite dry – between 14.5-16% – although I‘m not sure on yield,” says partner Nick Cobbold.

He is expecting this to be about average, (6.8t/ha – 2.75t/acre) despite the rooks that have hammered the crop.

“It seems to have suffered worse than usual since my next door neighbour gave up barley. Maybe I should send him an invoice for the damage he‘s exported,” he jokes.

But he is quite confident on quality: “Judging by the way it looks and the way it loads into the lorries I think we‘ll get a good specific weight. We‘ve got some big, bold berries.”

The straw is a different matter, however, following the storms earlier this week.

“It‘s going to be a nightmare to bale because you can barely make out the rows – the wind has distributed it nicely across the field.”

Wheat has escaped relatively unscathed, he is pleased to report, but his Clipper winter beans, drilled too early and too thick, are looking “a mess”.

“They had already gone flat. Now they‘re practically underground.”

He was expecting to get started again on Friday (July 9) and clear the 20ha (50 acre) block of Carat over the weekend.