Harvest has just begun at Clive Apps’ farm near Romney, Kent, with just under 20ha (50 acres) of Castille oilseed rape in the barn.

“We’ve made a start on the best bit – the rest doesn’t look very good,” he said. The first plot yielded about 3.9t/ha (1.6t/acre) but a combination of poor establishment and damage from pigeons and rabbits meant the rest was unlikely to do that well.

After the Castille Mr Apps would be cutting Komando. “We’ll be 10-12 days before we’re into any wheat,” he said.

Crop: Oilseed rape
Variety: Castille
Area: 20ha (50 acres)
Yield: 3.9t/ha (1.6t/acre)