Suffolk grower John Taylor managed to finish harvesting the last of his 80ha (200 acres) of winter barley this morning [20 July] before rain arrived.

“It went well,” he told Harvest Highlights.

He had stopped combining Sequel winter barley last night when moisture content rose too high. “It was too damp to continue.”

But he finished combining it this morning at 19% moisture content before rain came to Grove Farm, Clopton. “It started raining at 9.30 am.”

Yields on the light-land were around 6.9t/ha (2.75 t/acre), he estimated. “I’m now going to dry it down to 15% moisture.”

Mr Taylor had also completed combining 60ha (150 acres) of ES Astrid oilseed rape, which had been affected by hail storms earlier in the month. It yielded a “disappointing” 3.1t/ha (1.25 t/acre). “The fields were still green under the canopy too.”

He had around 260ha (650 acres) of Castille and Lioness still to harvest. “We just want it to stop raining now.”

Heavier-land Robigus, Alchemy and Glasgow winter wheat was still three weeks away from being fit, he added.

• Crop: Winter barley
• Variety: Sequel
• Area: 80ha
• Yield: 6.9 t/ha

• Crop: Winter oilseed rape
• Variety: ES Astrid
• Area: 60ha
• Yield: 3.1 t/ha

*Harvest Highlights 2007 is sponsored by RAGT