Scottish farmer Doug Fowlie from Peterhead said harvest was slightly ahead of usual.

“A month ago we looked like things were going to be behind this year so it’s amazing how the dry weather had brought it on so quickly.”

Most of the 100ha of winter barley had been cut. He was slightly disappointed with one field yielding 8.4t/ha, but he hoped Bastore would yield slightly better than other varieties. The quality was good with a heavy grain.

“We feed all the winter barley to our livestock so we’re not bothered by cutting at 18% moisture.”

One hundred and forty hectares of oilseed rape was looking “full of promise”, and he expected to start cutting within the next two days. Winter wheat was looking well and would be ready in about four weeks.

He added: “Eighty percent of the rape has been swathed in the area, and about seventy percent of the winter barley has been harvested.”

• Crop: Winter barley
• Area: 100ha
• Yield: 8.4t/ha
• Quality: 18% moisture