Harvest round-up: Exceeding expectations

Farmers have made good progress with harvest over the past few days, and early indications of yields are surprisingly good.

According to the latest ADAS / HGCA crop report, farmers cut around 100,000ha in the week to Tuesday (6 August), with about 5% of the total combinable crop area now harvested.

Although that was well below the five-year mean of 20%, early yields of both winter barley and oilseed rape were close to or better than farm averages, it said.

In Suffolk, that was certainly true for contractor Andrew Flatt, who had two combines running today.

“I think oilseed rape will be better than most people expected after the winter,” he said.

“I think the crops that survived will end up being better than average – I’m really surprised by how good they are.”

Further north, early winter barley yields across south and west Yorkshire had been very encouraging, said Agrii agronomist Sam Patchett.

Hybrids were coping with the season’s conditions better than most, and earlier harvested crops would almost certainly be the best performers.

“We’re expecting quite a lot of barley round the 6.5-7t/ha mark,” he said. “Even so, that is remarkable considering we had such tiny plants under a thick cover of snow only four months ago.”

But in Dyfed, Wales, oilseed rape had yielded slightly below the five-year average at Trenewydd Fawr, Haverfordwest, where Meurig Raymond was just starting to cut winter barley.

Rapeseed yields had ranged from 3t/ha on light soils so 5t/ha on deeper soils. “We grew mostly hybrids, but the issue is soil type, not variety,” he said.

In Wiltshire, Josh Stratton was extremely excited about harvest at East Farm, Codford St Mary, with some bumper yields hopefully on the cards. “I’m a very happy farmer – the yields are really good and everything is going well,” he said.

So far his Charmay spring barley had yielded between 7.5t/ha and 8.5t/ha, and made the malting grade with a nitrogen content of 1.6%.

Adding to the excitement was the farm’s new Claas Lexion 780 combine with a 13.5m header.

“She’s a honey – my combine driver is deeply in love,” said Mr Stratton. “She’s doing 60t/hr in spring barley while chopping the straw without any loss of power – it’s absolutely phenomenal.”