Damp conditions have brought combines to a halt in East Anglia today (27 July), but elsewhere harvest is making good progress.

In Norfolk, Matt Haddingham had been rained off near Bungay, but was pleased with oilseed rape yields so far.

He was employing a new combining tactic this year, using GPS on the combine to cut at a 30 degree angle across the tramlines.

“The crops flow through the combine better, and we pick up the tramlines better, instead of losing plants in front of the header.”

In Yorkshire, Chris Smith had finished combining winter barley for a customer near Easingworld, yesterday, and expected to start oilseed rape on Friday.

“The barley didn’t do very well at all. It was on light land and ranged from 0.3t/ha (0.1t/acre) to 10.2t/ha (4.1t/acre).”

Overall, the 80ha (200 acres) of Volume probably averaged just under 4t/ha (1.6t/acre), he said.

But barley was proving slow to ripen near St Asaph, North Wales, where Glynn Jones was cutting oilseed rape today, having pulled out of barley which was not quite fit.

So far he had cut Suzuka at his home farm, which yielded a pleasing 7.4t/ha (3t/acre).

The 8ha (20 acres) of Cubic oilseed rape cut today had also yielded well, at about 4.3t/ha (1.75t/acre).

Oilseed rape was yielding well across most of Europe, with hybrid crops outperforming traditional varieties, according to plant breeder Dekalb.

Farmers in France, Hungary and Nordic countries had cut about 80% of the rapeseed crop, with Bulgaria about 60% through, said Anne Williams, Dekalb’s West Europe OSR manager.

Harvest in Germany and the UK had been held up due to wet weather, with about 30% of the crops cut. “We should see the bulk of it off by the middle of next week.”

Harvest was off to a disastrous start for Richard Payne at Manor Farm, Heathfield, Somerset, but yields were relatively pleasing.

“I fell off the combine and broke my ribs on Monday, then I cut my hand badly yesterday, and my poor cocker spaniel puppy was run over at the weekend,” he said.

However, harvest itself was progressing well, with 40ha (100 acres) of Cabernet oilseed rape coming off at 4.4-5t/ha (1.8-2t/acre).

Rain was likely to spread into the North and North West of England tomorrow, said the Met Office. But brighter weather would then return for the rest of the week.