The Indian summer has enabled most farmers to finish harvest across the South West, according to Ian Eastwood, marketing manager at West Country Grain.

“We did get left behind somewhat, but the better weather has enabled a lot of people to catch up.”

Although there were still a few fields to clear up, moistures were now below 15% in many cases, he said.

“The past 10 days have been an absolute saviour, and the quality hasn’t been anywhere near as bad as last season.”

Quality had suffered after the rain, and some samples looked weathered. “But it’s a much more marketable crop than last year,” said Mr Eastwood.

“Yields have been a bit below average, but they’ve exceeded the expectations of what looked like a pretty poor harvest at one point.”