Richard Payne has finished harvest at Manor Farm, Heathfield, Somerset, and is making a start on cultivations.

“We finished the spring beans yesterday – it’s nice to have had an easy harvest. We only had to dry two trailer loads of wheat, compared to the past two years when we’ve dried every grain.”

Fuego spring beans yielded very poorly at under 2.5t/ha (1t/acre). “We never normally get less than 5.6t/ha (2.25t/acre), but we had virtually no rain between Easter and harvest.

“We were on target for the best ever harvest we could have – everything went in very well and looked great until Easter – and then it just stopped raining.”

However, oilseed rape coped very well with the drought, having been sown at a low seed rate and rooted well.

Cabernet yielded slightly better than Castille, and was shorter and easier to combine, said Mr Payne. “We averaged nearly 4.9t/ha (2t/acre), which is our best ever yield.”

However, oil content was slightly down, at 42%, possibly due to the higher yield, he added.

Wheat yields were about 1.2t/ha (0.5t/acre) below normal, averaging about 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre). “The bushelweights are very good.

“In one day I combined the best wheat – Grafton first wheat – I have ever had, and the worst I’ve ever had.

“North facing fields and the bottom of banks yielded the best – perhaps because they weren’t so parched by the sun.”

With deeply cracked soils following a frosty winter and the spring drought, Mr Payne expected not to need to subsoil this autumn, and was now busy cultivating.

Crop: Winter wheat
Varieties: Grafton, Alchemy, Battalion, Deben, Oakley, Scout, Invictor and Diego
Yield: 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre)

Crop: Spring beans
Variety: Fuego
Yield: <2.5t/ha (1t/acre)

Crop: Oilseed rape
Varieties: Castille and Cabernet
Yield: 4.9t/ha (2t/acre)