Norfolk farmer Graham Bunn said he had cut a third of the wheat until it rained, and had now not cut anything for five days. But he said things were going well and 150ha (60ac) of Istabraq was all coming in dry at 9.7 – 9.8t/ha (3.88 – 3.92t/ac).

“We’ve got to press on. We’re quite pleased, but much happier than we were with the spring barley.”

He had saved some seed to grow Istabraq again next year. Quality was “excellent, with plump, bold grain” and bushel weights were good.

Cocktail spring barley had suffered from screenings at 10% due to the drought, leaving problems with malting. “It died before it had matured.” The crop yielded 6t/ha (2.4t/ac) over 150ha (375ac).

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Variety: Istabraq
• Area: 150ha
• Yield: 9.7 – 9.8t/ha
• Quality: Excellent

• Crop: Spring barley
• Variety: Cocktail
• Area: 150ha
• Yield: 6t/ha
• Quality: Screenings 10%