WET WEATHER in the last couple of days has meant few farmers have been able to make progress with the combine.

However some farmers in the East and South of the country have continued with harvest.

The latest oilseed rape yields seem to be better after a miserable start for many farmers, while barley results remain promising.

Anthony Hornshaw from N. Yorks told FARMERS WEEKLY Harvest Highlights: “I feel quite comfortable now that I‘ve got my barley in and also the majority of oilseed rape.”

His oilseed rape did reasonably well. “Given the year, we‘re quite happy.”

Moisture content was “all over the place”, varying from 6-13% while yields averaged at 4.2 t/ha (34 cwt/acre).
 
Stephen Hasell  was happy with the results from his Caracas oilseed rape in Somerset.

“It appears to be good so far – there were more good crops than bad. Because we use min-till we were able to keep moisture in the ground allowing the rape to establish well.”

Guy Davies from Shropshire has ground to a halt due to heavy rainfall last night (Aug 4).

On average his rape yielded 4.2 t/ha (1.7 t/acre) with the majority of it coming in below 9% moisture.

Meanwhile, Tim Cooper has harvested 20ha (50 acres) of Malacca in recent days in Essex.

“There have been a few good areas but yield hasn’t been fantastic.”

The weather‘s been “bright and dry”, allowing him to make some real progress. Despite this, the harvest is a week later than normal, due to lower levels of sunshine.

According to FWi weather services much of England will have sunny spells, with there being heavier cloud in the West and North and chances of showers in the midlands.