Harvest has started at Barometer farmer Andrew Barr’s East Lenham Farm near Maidstone, Kent, with 19ha (47 acres) of barley now in the barn.

The Boost 6-row winter barley yielded a pleasing 9t/ha (3.6t/acre) as a second cereal, dropping to 7t/ha (2.8t/acre) in one waterlogged field. “We cut it earlier this week (w/e 18 July) and are now just getting the straw baled,” said Mr Barr. The crop came in at 14% moisture and 61kg/hl.

“We’ve got a gap now until the rape next week. It doesn’t look too bad but we had problems last autumn when it was very dry – some germinated at the beginning of September, and some at the beginning of October, so it’s a bit variable.”

Crop: Winter barley
Variety: Boost
Area: 19ha (47 acres)
Yield: 7-9t/ha (2.8-3.6t/acre)