Paul Temple finished harvest near Driffield, Yorkshire, on Monday (1 September) and was very pleased with yields.

“I’m not going to put any yield estimates on the wheat until it’s gone – we’ve got days and days of drying ahead of us,” he said.

“But we have been exceptionally pleased with both the Alchemy and the Claire.”

Most of the wheat had been combined at 18-20%, he said. “We had a brief flirtation for three hours when it was at 16%.”

A robust spray programme had held off any disease, but the main problem after drying was getting the straw baled, added Mr Temple.

“A large chunk of it is still in the field.”

Crop: Winter wheat
Variety: Alchemy
Area: 57ha (140 acres)
Yield: > average

Variety: Claire
Area: 57ha (140 acres)
Yield: > average

Crop: Oilseed rape
Varieties: Castille and Catana
Area: 40ha (100 acres)
Yield: 3.7t/ha (1.5t/acre)

Crop: Winter barley
Variety: Saffron
Area: 16ha (40 acres)
Yield: 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre)