Wheat harvest has finished for Keith Harris in Gillingham, Dorset. He was pleased 100ha of wheat averaged 8.75t/ha. “It would have been nice to have had a bit more but then we didn’t have any less, so it’s not a bad result.”

The crop’s sample was looking very good, and he guessed bushel weights were high. He planned to drop Istabraq next year because it did not perform as well as Robigus and Claire.

“The general consensus in the area is that quality is very good in winter wheat.”

In his variety trials of Zebedee, Nijinsky, Robigus, Alchemy and Istabraq, he said Istabraq only yielded 8.7t/ha, and Alchemy slightly less. He planned to continue trialling Zebedee, Nijinksy and Robigus because they all yielded 9.5t/ha.

The crop had all been sold to the Wessex Grain Co-op, and so he expected his wheat to be in the spring pool.

Mr Harris was preparing the seed cleaner, and then planned to start cutting on contract farms later this afternoon (August 7).

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Variety: Robigus, Istabraq and Claire
• Area: 100ha
• Yield: 8.75t/ha average, with Istabraq slightly less
• Quality: N/A