There is a lot of wheat still to cut around Clackmannan, so James Muir is particularly pleased to have finished harvest at Arns Farm on Saturday night (15 September).

“We cut some wheat on Friday and it wasn’t too bad, although it didn’t yield as well as it could have done, because the ears didn’t fill out,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of straw, either.”

The poor autumn last year meant he only managed to drill 5ha of wheat, which averaged close to 9.8t/ha. “It was Beluga and looked pretty good all year.”

The 45ha of barley did well, with Belgravia averaging almost 6.2t/ha. “We cut it at 15-18% moisture, and it had a bit of skinning and screenings, with nitrogen at 1.69%,” he said.

“The Propino had a lot of skinning in one field, while the other was alright. But we haven’t shifted either of them yet, as we’re a bit short of lorries up here while everyone is needing them.”

Mr Muir was now preparing the soil ahead of drilling winter oats.

“It’s quite heavy clay here and was drying out a bit too much on Friday. It won’t break down very easily.”