Peter Wombwell hopes to start combining winter wheat at Rectory Farm, Ickleton, Essex, this afternoon (2 August), having finished peas and oilseed rape.

“The rapeseed was fantastic – it was a real surprise,” he said.

The 85ha (210 acres) of Cabernet and Excalibur averaged just below 4.9t/ha (2t/acre), with very little to pick between the varieties.

“That is way above our normal average – we’re very pleased. We subsoil drilled it and it had very long roots, so kept on getting the moisture.

“It took forever for the Roundup to kill it off – some of it was sprayed for three and a half weeks. But it had a good bold seed.”

Prophet peas were a more mixed bag, ranging from 2.5t/ha to 4.3t/ha (1-1.75t/acre).

“The sample is lovely – they are a good colour, so we are just going to wait for the price to rise – I think pulses will be tight this year.”

Having just tested some Xi19 winter wheat at 18.5% moisture, Mr Wombwell hoped to be combining that later today.

“The two bits I have walked look horrible, but I think they are the worst bits – the heavy land doesn’t look too bad.”

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Crop: Oilseed rape
Varieties: Cabernet and Excalibur
Area: 85ha (210 acres)
Yield: <4.9t/ha (2t/acre)

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Crop: Peas
Variety: Prophet
Area: 51ha (127 acres)
Yield: 2.5-4.3t/ha (1-1.75t/acre)

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Don’t forget – you can text us about your harvest progress on 07537 402 287. Start your message with “fwharvest”