Chris Bean from UAP in Kent is concerned about the effects of the recent spell of rain on Hagberg.

It seems that Kent had missed out on much of the rain until 6 o’clock yesterday evening (10 Aug).

“In general things seemed to be going well. Oilseed rape has been a mixed bag while this has been one of the better barley harvests in recent years.”

He said that rape yields have been varying between 2.59-3.71 t/ha (21-30 cwt).

According to Mr Bean, this is down to three main factors: poor establishment last August, Pigeons, and a wet spell in early April.

“The combination of all these factors has made it a very hard year for the oilseed rape.”

He said that now most of the oilseed rape is in, farmers are waiting for the weather to clear up starting wheat.

Some may now feel they should have started wheat sooner, he notes.

“I would have started over the weekend, taken the higher moisture contents and then used a drier. But that’s with the benefit of hindsight.”

With the forecast of unsettled weather to remain for the next couple of days, farmers are worried that hagbergs will start to drop.

“You also need to consider how this rain will affect next year’s crops as well as this years.

“Farmers will soon be itching to drill some oilseed rape but they won’t be able to do this if they haven’t finished moving the wheat off the field.”

“The last thing people want is a wet harvest.” Mr Bean added.