WITH A DAY of dry weather in much of the UK, following the recent storms, farmers have been out harvesting.

Reports of oilseed rape are still ‘doom and gloom‘ although farmers in the south and east seem to have had the worst results to date.

The same farmers are also making more progress on their wheat harvest while in the north progress continues to be hampered by damp and dull weather.

Essex farmer Arnold Hitchcock told FARMERS WEEKLY Harvest Highlights: “Wheat yields look like they‘re going to be quite exciting, but we‘re not counting our chickens too early.”

He‘s harvested 40ha (100 acres) of Cordiale wheat at 9.88 t/ha (4 t/acre), 84 kg/hl and 11.2% protein.

“The yield and specific weight is superb, but unfortunately the protein levels weren‘t great.”

However, he says oilseed rape was not so successful branding it “disastrous”. If the results don‘t improve next year, he won‘t grow the crop again.

Alan Randall has had a mixed wheat harvest in Berkshire.

“Malacca isn‘t suited to dry conditions, it really suffered on the gravel during a spell of dry weather.”

However, his second Deben wheat was a success, yielding 9.27 t/ha (3.75 t/acre). “For a second wheat, this is pretty good.”

In N.Ireland William Russell has finished harvesting barley with his Colossus coming up trumps, while Scottish farmer Hamish Forbes is battling against the weather to try to finish combining barley.

Mr Forbes said: “The weather has been against us – usually this time of year we‘d be cutting spring barley.”
 
According to FWi weather services the UK will be warm with sunny spells and a chance of heavy thunderstorms in the south-east.