Combines have been rolling across the country, with harvest under way as far north as Angus in Scotland.

Openfield’s Rob Sanderson spotted the combine near Friockheim, Angus today (14 July). “I nearly swerved off the road in surprise,” he said.

But nearby, Mike Cumming’s winter barley was still a good way off from combining at Lour Farms, Ladenford.

“I’ve got 61ha of hybrids, and I won’t be putting roundup on until the end of next week, so it will be the end of July before we start combining,” he said.

Further south, in Yorkshire, Keith Snowball started combining winter barley for a client today near Brandsby – one of the earliest starts he had made.

“It’s not the earliest we’ve ever started but it’s getting up there,” he said. “We’re nearly a month earlier than last year.”

Having cut around 12ha of Volume at 15.5% moisture, Mr Snowball said yields had been good, at 7.4-9.9t/ha.

See also: Upload your harvest photos to our Harvest Highlights gallery.

In Essex, Peter Wombwell had cut 65ha of oilseed rape at and around Rectory Farm, Ickleton, and was so far extremely disappointed with yields.

“There are no harvest highlights here – it hasn’t been a good start,” he said. Cutting his own PR46W21 and other varieties for neighbours, yields had been very poor at just 3-3.5t/ha.

“The agronomist thinks it’s verticilium wilt, but I suppose harvesting anything in the first week of July is never going to be good,” said Mr Wombwell. “Hopefully the later rape will improve.”

Across on the West coast, sea mists had put harvest on hold at Tregirls Farm, Padstow, Cornwall, but Charlie Watson-Smyth had at least made a start on cutting winter barley.

“We started combining a little bit of winter barley yesterday,” he said. “It seems to be very good so far – it’s yielded a good 7.4t/ha, which is decent for us.”

Unfortunately, in Surrey, Colin Rayner had suffered his first arson attack of the season, with four or five rows of barley straw going up in flames on Sunday night.

“We finished harvesting a field of winter barley at Wey Manor Farm, New Haw, Chertsey on Saturday night and got a call from our neighbour on Sunday night to say the fire brigade were on their way,” he said. “At least we’d finished combining it.”