Better than expected weather has enabled some farmers to continue combining, although showers continue to frustrate in places.

Farmers had cut more crops over the past week than in any other week of harvest, according to an ADAS report for HGCA.

Almost 800,000ha of crops were cleared (1.98m acres) in the week to 8 September, bringing the total combinable crop area harvested to over 90%.

In Co Down, Northern Ireland, farmers still had about 25% of their spring barley to cut, said Philip Davidson at North Down Grain.

“We haven’t had the heavy rainfall that other places have got, so we were on cutting yesterday (8 September). If we have a couple of good days most of the county will have finished.”

Better weather over the past week had also enabled harvest to catch up quickly at Lockdhu Farm, Nairn, Morayshire, said Hamish Forbes.

Harvest was about 80% complete in the area, and later drilled spring barley was not yet ripe, he said. “It looks fine, but it won’t be ready for about a week.”

In Lincolnshire, Steven Lunn cracked on with combining throughout the wet weather, and had finished harvest at Westville Farm, Boston, if not the grain drying.

“We tend to get on when nobody else is – we had some quality wheat and we just wanted to get it in the shed, and I’m glad we did, although we’re still drying a bit.”

Harvest had also gone relatively smoothly at Velcourt’s South West farms, although yields were variable, said Richard Williamson, regional farms director.

“On the chalk soils we had a generally good harvest, but any brash, sandy, gravel or poorly structured clay soil was not so good.”