Winter barley yields in the Lothian, Angus and Perthshire area could be down by 0.6-1.2t/ha (0.25-0.5t/acre) on last year, according to John Stirling from Glencore.

Some 20-25% of winter barley had been cut so far, and although quality looked ok in general, yields had suffered due to lack of sunshine, he said. Many crops were typically coming in at 6.8-7.4t/ha (2.75-3t/acre).

“Quality is very mixed. Most winter malting barley will probably go for malting, but nitrogen content’s are higher at 1.9%. Samples also look pretty washed-out,” he added.

“I’ve just received a sample of Pearl from last year’s harvest and you wouldn’t believe the contrast between this year and last.”

Very little oilseed rape had been cut in Scotland so far, and Mr Stirling expected most growers to start by this weekend.