Philip Gorringe is half way through harvest at Lower Blakemere Farm, Blakemere, Herefordshire, although rain has called a halt to combining plans.

“We’ve completed the grass seed, which was very good,” he said. “We’re now underway with the wheat, which hasn’t been too bad considering the growing conditions.”

The Grafton and Cordiale winter wheat yielded an average of 6.8t/ha, with Tower winter barley topping 7.4t/ha.

Cassia winter barley reached over 9.9t/ha in places, although there were many patches where there hadn’t been any signs of a crop due to the flooding earlier in the year, said Mr Gorringe.

“The winter barley was drilled late, yet where the seedbed wasn’t compromised it’s not been too bad, and everything that’s still left to go looks good.

“We’ve also managed to get through some of the Charlie vining peas, which haven’t broken any records, but they’ve been ok,” he added. 

With over 155ha of crops still left to cut, including wheat, barley and peas, Mr Gorringe was hoping for a decent break in the weather.

“The peas aren’t too far away, but some of the barley is still barely ripe. Because it’s all going for seed we can’t spray it off,” he said.

“We would normally have finished most of the harvest by now. It’s not getting to a point where we really have to worry, but we’re certainly hoping for a nice Indian summer.” 

Crop: Winter wheat
Varieties:  Grafton and Cordiale
Yield: 6.8t/ha

Crop: Winter barley
Varieties:  Cassia and Tower
Yield: 7.4-9.9t/ha