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Wheat growers in southern England are reporting generally good yields and some surprising results.

Wiltshire farmer Roger Moore said his Istabraq wheat was doing well. It yielded 10t/ha, with a low moisture of 15%. He said Alchemy was also looking promising.

First wheat Solstice yields were “staggeringly amazing” for Robert Shove in North Kent at 9.6t/ha. Second wheat Solstice yielded 8t/ha, while Malacca did 7t/ha on the lighter land. Progress so far was “surprisingly good”, he said.

Forty hectares of Soissons yielded well at 9.5t/ha for Peter Francesconi in Kent. The bushel weight was also very good at over 81kg/hl, and he said: “It’s the best we’ve had for three or four years.”

The 4-4.6t/ha for his oilseed rape also pleased him: “[This is] good for us up on the hills.”

Continuous Claire wheat yielded 7.5t/ha for Charlie Watson-Smyth in Cornwall, which he said was good for him. He said it was much better than the “catastrophic” yields last year.

But not all growers were pleased with yields, as Cambridgeshire’s Richard Blackhurst found. His first wheat Malacca was almost 1.5t/ha below expectations, although other varieties have fared slightly better.

See FWi’s Harvest Highlights section for the regional reports in full and more from around the country, updated every day.