My Dad, who has done 50 harvests in our corner of East Anglia, reckons this is the worst he can remember.

Not for yields, which have been great this year. Not for spectacular downpours, either, which haven't been as bad as some years.

What it has been worst for is the sheer lack of decent drying conditions. None of our wheat came in at less than 16% moisture and (like everyone else) we'll be drying round the clock for weeks to come. God knows when we'll get the rest of it in (luckily, not too much left though).  

Can any oldies out there remember a more frustrating harvest? I thought we farmers had a deal with Him Upstairs whereby he chucked some showers at at us early on but then brought the sun out at the last moment just when we were giving up hope.

Time for a ritual sacrifice to appease the gods. Any suggestions for a victim?

Yes,

Save British Agriculture and the World and put Hilary Benn and his Father on the sacrifical Alter.The weather is a small annoyance compared to the trouble these have caused in the world.

You need a giant Wicker Man don't know who you'd put in it tho Benn would just bring more rain.

To my mind it’s almost as bad as 1985.

1985 harvest is etched forever in my memory for all the wrong reasons. It was my final one as a farm manager - for a new non-farming owner who, although he didn’t say so, I always felt wondered why we couldn't repeat the bumper results of 1984 under my previous employer.

We had a field of Panda barley so flat on soil so wet that we had to put a mower through first to fluff it up enough to get it in the combine. When we tried to use the pick-up reel it gathered more mud than grain.

The knock-on effect with the wet weather continuing right through that autumn was that our wheat drilling, as I recall with Galahad sown last, continued right into early November.

It was then, when my employer stopped my two man team from sowing in order to clear up a Nov 5 bonfire, that I realised our priorities were clearly not the same.

I’m really concerned now for the harvest. The forecast is dire. We’ve had at least half an inch of rain here in Wiltshire this morning, and I was talking to a manager just down the road from me who tells me he still has 1000 acres of wheat to cut.

The worst we ever had was 1998.  Through the fall we got several big rains of 6-7 inches at a time, fought mud until finally out of desperation traded for a 4WD combine.  They needed to do some work to it so I kept running the 2WD, as luck would have it I took the transmission out of it.  On Halloween night '98, the weatherman forecast about a half inch of rain.  By morning, we had 14.  Water was up to the top of the drive wheels on my combine, and I had it parked on what I thought was high ground.  As luck would have it, we didn't have alot of crop left to harvest, but all we did have was in the lowest river bottoms, the river went clear over the top of the corn.  We couldn't go again until nearly the 1st of December.  When we did, the dust from the river water on the corn made me feel like I was combining in the middle of a tornado, I couldn't see past the front of the cornhead.  On the second pass I discovered I had missed hitting a giant oak tree that had floated into the field by inches.  I shut it down and told dad I wouldn't go back in until we had a rain wash the dust off so I could see, I wasn't going to destroy the combine by hitting one of those trees.  We ended up shelling corn in late May, sad but true. 

We are already worrying about this falls harvest, never seen weather like this.  Record high for two days ago was in 2000, 108F.  Today it will barely make 70F. We have had about 30 days of below normal temps, even the early beans look 3 weeks late.  Shouldn't frost until October 15, but all signs point to an early frost, late planted crops+cool August temps+early frost=terrible test weights and low yields for beans. 

I was talking to our Potato Adviseor on thursday.He covers the whole of England.He said we were in one of the best spots in the country.If thats the case i feel very sorry for the rest.

Tipped another 1" out tonight.Looked at the long range today and now quite concerned for the potatoes that like the wheat did!!!  look good befor harvest.

If the long range is right i fear for the rest of the wheat harvest.

Heard today of one man that cut 2800 acres with a Class 600 and is finished.WOW.

Kansas ?? USDA is talking up crop output are they some way off the mark.

1958 or 1957 was bad i am told.

Grain harvest finished for me late nights and much drying.Much to much combine capacity,but worth nearly as much as payed for 5 years ago,NH.

JOHN.

John I will be honest and tell you I don't think a farmer in the USA believes the USDA right now.  Gustav knocked down a world of crops in the south, a huge part of the nation got planted late, and alot of that better ground east of here in Illinois and Indiana is in drouth now as I understand it.  Bunches of crops got hailed out.  But the old saying is you kill a wheat crop 3 times before harvest, and a record corn crop always comes in a drouth or late planted year.  We are in a situation now where crops just aren't growing normally, usually it is because we are hot as the south side of hell, but this year it is because we are cold, just came in from checking my calving cows and I was soaked to the skin and about to freeze, the first week of September!?!?!  Often we are in the 100s now.  We are 5 weeks from normal frost date, and about 20 days from the earliest I have seen it frost in my lifetime.  We are going to need every single day of the 5 weeks to finish soybeans, and I am not sure that will do it.  Keep in mind, usually the combines are beginning to shell corn here most years, and I have always started soybean harvest the last week in September, save one year(this is the 22nd crop year for me).  I don't think you will see any corn shelled for at least another week, not then if this weather stays.

I think the weather is worse than 85 or 86 but the crops seem to be standing up to it better. Back then we had Wheat flat on the ground that made IR£45 a ton and we were lucky to get it for it, tipping trailers and having to sod it out !! All wheats are standing around us and those sprayed off are not growing. Barley crop is ok but Fusarium is starting to become a problem. Weather forecast is not good. TG we have so much done

Here in uk we have had one dryish week in the last 5 weeks next week not looking much better.Trade saying huge crop.I have .3 ton acre more than 5 year ave.But last year it was 1.25 ton acre less than 5 year ave.If the weather had been good in august we would have had a record crop for sure.Now its looking like ave at best,with crops lost in some areas.Allmost unheard of in UK.Still its going to take more than this year to make up for 2007.We have had about 3 sunny days in the last 5 weeks.Then there is the possible impact on plantings for next year,to soon to tell on that.Rape cant be planted in some areas as to wet or land not clear.On the HGCA variety trials the yeald is 8% over the 5 year ave which is the same as me,but this is only the early cut areas in the south,so the painful trials are still to come in??

Will some of the crop spoil in store?? I dont think this market is done in yet.

JOHN. 

 AGGH i think we're averaging about 2 days a week with about 20 percent done..and 3 weeks late with early snow forecast ??????????????

300 acres of oats swathed , 250 acres of rape swathed ..Some of which has been sitting for weeks,Standing wheat sprouted, 400 acres of beans are starting to lose leaves and 250 acres of sunflowers are starting to die down and 300 acres of alfalfa either rotting in the swath or going to seed standing.

Every thing is going to come at once..Those two old combines are going to have their work cut out..I see a lot of all -nighters and making ruts ,Just a quick once over for fall tillage and no stubble spraying..We've said that for 3 years ..F#@K!ng rain ..........Oh joy..?

I have friends in many countries and all say same ..

Not too far north of us it's as good as written off and are already talking about disaster status and talking about government funding but generally up in the stock areas where they haven't baled a bale without getting wet this year..?And crops are standing in any thing up to 1ft of water.We tried the oats today and surprisingly moisture was 14.9 but the straw was like putting house bricks through the combine and looking at the ground you would not know that it had been through a chopper

It has not rained her for 24 hours. Thats the first time in almost a fortnight. 3 inches this week.

Crop in store will be fine. Lots of grain stirrers being sold.

Market will hit the buffers soon. Lots of crop looking poor but much wasnt ripe last week still with the lack of sun. No pre-harvest roundup should keep the seed in the ears for a bit longer, and we will think about planting once its scraped up and in the shed. I expect rape planting will be well down, and much of what has gone in to seedbeds that were not ploughed/loosened will be popped and dead, if the slugs havent got to it first.

Its rain like this that makes me think twice about dropping beet, but we will certainly be having grass in the rotation at this rate.

Correction. Couple of spectacular cloud bursts in the last 30 mins have wet everything after what was shaping up to have been a good drying / soaking in day.

Here on sunday AM showers,PM storms.Great!!!    JOHN.

 Whats the weather been like since you last reported and whats the organic crop like ????

The weather up here has been very good really, only a couple of big showers. Every combine available is in action as the crop comes ripe, we are happy to cut between 20 and 25%. Organic crops are standing well and will be a week at least behind conventional. We are on course to start in October

Seems that whichever side the atlantic we;re on w've got the same s#!t and my friends in other countries say same ........Australias drought continues to worsen.................?