Harvest was not going well for Norfolk farmer Graham Bunn, having been held back by the rain. “We’ve had quite a bit of rain recently. Apart from a little run on Saturday, we’ve been at a stop.”

Of 150ha of Cocktail spring barley, he had five fields waiting to be cut. “It is suffering from the drought in July. We’re on light soil so it has all died prematurely.”

Bushel weights were quite good at 68/69kg/hl but he said the screenings were high. “They’re at 8 – 9% when they should be at 4 – 5% and it’s directly due to the drought.”

Mr Bunn said crops did not finish as they should have done, and so yields also suffered. “Yields were at 5.8t/ha, which is disappointing because they should have met the average of 6t/ha.”

The wheat crop was “looking fine” and he said bushel weights were supposed to have been good in the area. “Time wise we are ahead of last year but the wheat will be dealt with once the Cocktail is in.”

• Crop: Spring barley
• Variety: Cocktail
• Area: 150ha
• Yield: 5.8t/ha
• Quality: Bushel weight 68/69 kg/hl, screenings 8 – 9%