Gerald Erwin finished harvest at Nutts Corner, Crumlin, Co. Antrim, yesterday (27 August), and hopes to start drilling winter wheat tomorrow.

“We had a reasonable weekend and worked straight through from Thursday to Monday.

“But before that we had three weeks in which we only did two days’ work, because of the wet weather. We were harvesting in the mid 20% moisture contents.”

Tybalt spring wheat yielded well, at 7.4t/ha (3t/acre), with spring oats coming off at 6.2t/ha (2.5t/acre) on heavy ground.

“The samples looked good – there was no sprouting, although it is all destined for feed.”

Most crops were now cut in the area, leaving a very small percentage left to do, said Mr Erwin.

“But there’s very little wheat sown around here. If the weather holds we’re hoping to start sowing tomorrow, which will be fine – we normally aim for the last week in September, first week in October.”

Crop: Spring wheat
Variety: Tybalt
Yield: 7.4t/ha (3t/acre)

Crop: Spring barley
Variety: Quench
Area: 40ha (100 acres)
Yield: 4.9-6.2t/ha (2-2.5t/acre)

Crop: Winter wheat
Varieties: Alchemy and Einstein
Area: 30ha (75 acres)
Yield: 7.4-10t/ha (3-4t/acre)