It has felt like a catchy harvest, so with only one day left in the wheat at the time of writing and yet another rain-induced stoppage, I decided to add up the rainfall since the start of harvest.

The figure I came up with was 80mm, which is less than the running average for August. So how have we fared so far?

Volume at 10t/ha out-yielded both the Cassia and the Glacier, beating the best by over a tonne to the hectare. It will return an extra £140/ha, unlike last year when the increased yield did not cover the additional costs.

See also: Read more from our arable Farmer Focus writers

It seems to have been a good year for the hybrids, so a small area of Volume will go back in the ground again this year.

The oilseed rape yielded above average, with Harper performing the best at 4.2t/ha. Wheat has also yielded above average on the whole, and overall will exceed 8t/ha.

This is somewhat less than last year’s amazing 10t/ha. To illustrate the effect of gravel and lack of moisture at key times, we cut two fields of Crusoe a few hundred metres apart as the crow flies.

Both fields were sown on the same day and received the same treatment during the growing season. The gravel field managed 7.5t/ha and the moisture retentive soil 11.2t/ha.

In the predominantly gravel field the combine yield monitor swung from over 10t/ha to under 5t/ha, which made combine set-up a real challenge.

With some forward selling and better-than-planned yields, hopefully we can reach our projected budget despite the fall in commodity prices.

As we are predominantly a milling wheat grower, due to our lower yielding soils, it is disappointing to see the milling premium fall.

The worry going forward is that the Skyfall effect will only make this worse as feed wheat growers take a punt on getting a premium by growing a milling variety that can deliver a feed wheat yield.

Finally, don’t forget the Henley Agricultural Show on Saturday 12 September.

Simon manages 1,000ha of arable land at Dunsden Green, south Oxfordshire. Cropping is cereals, oilseed rape, beans and forage maize