Milling wheat and spring barley quality is generally very good, but wet weather in the North and West is starting to affect some crops.

Group 1 varieties were averaging about 12.8% protein, with Group 2 wheats at 12.2%, and Group 3s and 4s at 10.7-10.8%, said Simon Christensen from Frontier.

“I can’t see any issues with quality at all.”

In Kent, quality was proving variable, said Francesca Lewis at Weald Granary.

But while there were a number of low protein samples, careful blending meant most crops would achieve a milling premium.

Farmers in the West Midlands had about 30% of their wheat still to cut, and Hagbergs were starting to fall, said Julian Walker of Shropshire Grain.

“Hagbergs are not as high as we would want – and where they are borderline, with only a £20 milling wheat premium, there could be a lot to lose on fallbacks.”

Malting barley quality and yields had been excellent across Europe, producing around a 3m tonne surplus, said Stuart Shand of Gleadell Agriculture.

With huge carryover stocks and poor malting demand, the news was not good for prices. “One maltster is not taking any new crop until November.”

In Scotland, spring barley and winter wheat had broken two more records for Jim Whiteford at Shandwick Mains, Tain, Inverness.

“One 70-acre (28ha) field of Optic did a staggering 3.5t/acre (8.65t/ha). Quality has been excellent and the barley is heavy, at up to 71kg/hl.”

But in the South, up to 75% of malting barley samples could fail to make the grade due to split skins and fusarium, said Nick Brown of Wiltshire Grain.

“I reckon we’ve thrown 50% out (into the feed bin), and half of what we’ve kept may not be any good either.”