Neil Thomson and his combine-sharing group were less than half way through harvest near Kelso, Scottish Borders, and were now suffering from flooding.

“We had 120mm of rain from Friday night to Sunday night (5-7 September) and it’s washed away a lot of the road.”

The group still had 485ha (1200 acres) of wheat and spring barley to combine, and crops were sprouting in the field, said Mr Thomson.

“The quality is rubbish, but surprisingly yields have been really good, so far.”

Oxbridge spring barley was struggling, but the Optic was holding up better, he added. Nitrogen contents had been unbelievably low at 1.06%, with yields at 5.9t/ha (2.4t/acre).

At Caverton Mill, Mr Thomson now had 43ha (105 acres) of spring barley and 113ha (280 acres) of wheat to cut.

Crop: Winter wheat
Variety: Cordiale
Area: 80ha (200 acres)

Crop: Spring barley
Varieties: Oxbridge and Optic
Area: 79ha (195acres)
Yield: 5.9t/ha (2.4t/acre)