Bushel weights please Somerset grower

Jeremy Walker said harvest was going very well at Haddon Farm, Somerset. He had cut 53ha of Carat winter barley and expected to finish within a day. He estimated yield at 8.6t/ha with a bushel weight of 72kg/hl, which were both higher than last year.

“Bushel weights were good last year but they are very good this year so I am very pleased.”

With moisture levels at 12.5% Mr Walker said the dry weather was making it easier to cut crops which were still upright. But he added: “I’m very surprised the straw is not completely dry. We have to leave it a day or two once cut since it is only dry at the top.”

Variety Carat was partly grown for cattle feed on his own farm, and party to sell as seed within a few weeks.

Mr Walker expected winter wheat to be ready within two weeks. “We would have liked for it to have hung on a bit longer but we’re reasonably optimistic about the crop.”

Alchemy was “looking promising”, having not grown the variety before, and he was hopeful for Gladiator since it “did reasonably well” last year. “We’re on light to medium ground so the crops won’t be as good as on heavier land, but I’m hopeful things should be alright.”

• Crop: Winter Barley
• Variety: Carat
• Area: 53ha
• Yield: 8.6t/ha
• Quality: Bushel weight 72kg/hl, moisture 12.5%