End in sight in Oxfordshire

Philip Chamberlain hoped to finish harvest at Crowmarsh Battle Farm, Wallingford, Oxon, tomorrow (19 September).

He had 60ha (150 acres) of Alchemy to finish, and it was still standing, at 15% moisture. Bushelweights had dropped, but were still at about 72kg/hl.

Mr Chamberlain did not cut anything in the two weeks to 14 September, and the Einstein cut on 1 September was badly sprouted.

Yields had been reasonable, with the Hereward yielding 8.3t/ha (3.35t/acre), Xi19 8.9t/ha (3.6t/acre) and oats over 8t/ha (3.2t/acre).

Most farmers in the area would be finishing off over the weekend, although some of the larger farms had more to do, said Mr Chamberlain.

He had managed to drill some rape on the drier ground. “But we’ve cut back on the rape because it’s too wet to rush on with drilling.”

Crop: Winter wheat
Variety: Hereward
Area: 142ha (350 acres)
Yield: 8.3t/ha (3.35t/acre)

Variety: Xi19
Area: 114ha (282 acres)
Yield: 8.9t/ha (3.6t/acre)

Crop: Spring barley
Variety: Tipple
Area: 80ha (198 acres)
Yield: >7t/ha (2.8t/acre)

Crop: Winter oats
Variety: Gerald
Area: 98ha (242 acres)
Yield: >8t/ha (3.2t/acre)

Crop: Oilseed rape
Area: 200ha (494 acres)
Yield: 3t/ha (1.2t/acre)