Andrew Middlewood of Potter Brompton, Malton had harvested about a third of his 45ha (110 acres) of Pearl winter barley which looked weathered.

But his Castille oilseed rape remained uncut. “It was too wet,” he explained. “It’s not too bad round here, but it’s been slow progress.”

The barley came in at 20% moisture, and he anticipated problems having to harvest the two crops together.
  
There had been no problems with the rape so far, but if bad weather persisted he was prepared to cut at 13-14% moisture and dry down to avoid chitted seed.

From the forecast, he expected a clear day tomorrow, and hoped the oilseed would not sprout given drier weather for the next 10. 

Having had only 25mm (1in) of rain recently on his farm he acknowledged he was much better placed than many farmers further south.

But a week’s more rain raising the water table and causing ponding and wet holes would make combining really difficult, he said, “You can’t even travel down the tram lines.

“It’s like winter rain falling in the summer.”

Despite wind and rain, most of his wheat – Gladiator, Alchemy, and Einstein – remained unlodged.

• Crop: Winter Barley
• Variety: Pearl
o Quality: 20% moisture
o Area completed: 12ha (30 acres)
o Yield: N/A
• Area total: N/A