Final hour of harvest at Haddenham

Ernie Chambers has an hour left to go of this year’s harvest at Lode Way Farm, Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, and has seen some crops better than others.
“Most of what we’ve put through the combine has been a bit heavier than usual. It’s the heaviest wheat we’ve had on the farm,” he said.
Mr Chambers had cut over 80ha of Cordiale winter wheat, with yields around 9.8t/ha, according to the combine scales.
“It was coming off dry and the straw was of good quality with four big bales to an acre,” he added.
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The 182ha of Osprey and Allegro oilseed rape was reasonable for the farm at 4.6t/ha. Some fields had yielded better than others, but Mr Chambers was still pleased with the end result.
However, the Tipple spring barley was less pleasing at just over 4.9t/ha.
“It was a disappointing year for the barley,” said Mr Chambers. “In the past we’ve seen yields reach 5.6t/ha. Some of it was too dry when we cut it, and some parts just didn’t come right.”
He now only had the last of the barley left to cut. “It’s not been a bad year for the crops and the wheat was very good. It’s just a shame the prices are so low.”
Crop facts | |
---|---|
Crop: | Winter oilseed rape |
Varieties: | Osprey and Allegro |
Area: | 182ha |
Yield: | 4.6t/ha |
Crop: | Winter wheat |
Variety: | Cordiale |
Area: | 80ha |
Yield: | 9.8t/ha |