Winter barley and oilseed rape are yielding well at Peter Francesconi’s Dean Farm, Ashford, Kent.

“We’ve done the barley and it looks quite promising – nothing was over 15% moisture and the bushelweight looks good,” he said. The 89ha (220 acres) of Pearl and Cassata averaged slightly better than last year at 7.4t/ha (3t/acre).

“We’ve just started the rape and that’s better than expected,” said Mr Francesconi. The 24ha (60 acres) cut so far, of the 101ha (250 acres) of Castille was averaging over 3.7t/ha (1.5t/acre). “We’re very happy with that.”

He expected to finish the rape in the next three to four days.

Crop: Winter barley
Area: 89ha (220 acres)
Varieties: Pearl and Cassata
Yield: 7.4t/ha (3t/acre)

Crop: Oilseed rape
Area: 24ha (60 acres)
Variety: Castille
Yield: 3.7t/ha (1.5t/acre)