Spring barley quality is holding up well in Scotland, but yields are about 0.6t/ha (0.25t/acre) down, says Bruce Ferguson at Aberdeen Grain.

“This period of settled weather will make a huge difference to us – it will hopefully preserve the quality.

“That has been the main concern, but a lot of the spring barley wasn’t ready up here, so it has been alright so far.”

In Tayside and the borders spring barley harvest would be 80% finished by the weekend, with 15-20% likely to be cut in Aberdeenshire, he said.

“But there is such huge variation in progress – there was a massive difference between the earliest and latest sowings.”

Oilseed rape yields had been variable, but not too bad, and very little wheat had been cut yet.

“The main focus has been spring barley. Farmers in Tayside will be into wheat this week, and although it’s early it looks like we’ve got good bushelweights.”