Combines have been rolling in Scotland, desperately trying to get winter barley in before the rain stops play.

In Dundee, Ian Moncrieff was combining yesterday (12 August) cutting Amarena six-row barley at 18-19% moisture. It was yielding about average at 7.4-8.6t/ha (3-3.5t/acre).

John Hutcheson was also on combining in Fife, before getting rained off mid-afternoon. He was about 80% through his Sequel winter barley, which was coming in at 17-20% moisture and yielding better than average at 9-10t/ha (3.6-4t/acre).

Further south in Norfolk, Stephen Betts was busy contract combining while waiting for his own wheat and spring barley to ripen. “If we get a dry spell next week we’ll be straight into it.”

Ed Walker’s wheat was fit and ready to cut near Burford, Oxon. “We’re just waiting for it to dry up,” he said. “The straw is beginning to turn a bit black but the grain doesn’t look too bad.”

But in Wales, wheat was between a week and a fortnight away from being ripe at Huw Jones’s Pengwern Farm. “If it comes down as well as it looks I’ll be happy.”

Spring barley was three-quarters of the way through at Stephen Horn’s Bushy Down Farm, Droxford, Hants. “It’s doing exceptionally well – it’s a lovely sample,” he said.

The 121ha (300 acres) of Quench and Tipple was yielding more than 7.4t/ha (3t/acre) at 1.36-1.56% nitrogen.