Richard Solari is attempting to combine winter wheat at Heath House Farm, Beckbury, Shropshire, today (1 August), but is being thwarted by wet weather.

“We keep getting tiny bits of drizzle; it’s very frustrating.”

He was having to pick and choose the Oakley to cut, as much of it was not quite ripe. “We’ve been into and out of three fields now.”

With harvest about a week earlier than normal, Mr Solari wasn’t expecting yields to be record-breaking. “There are some shrivelled grains, but the earliest crops are on the poorest fields.”

Cassia winter barley yielded 7.4t/ha (3t/acre) on light land – although the last of it was still to be cut, having been sprayed off to ripen the straw.

Gerald winter oats also did well, considering the dry spring, at 6.4t/ha (2.6t/acre). “And it was nice and easy to combine – that’s an advantage of oats.”

Crop: Winter barley
Variety: Cassia
Yield: 7.4t/ha (3t/acre)

Crop: Winter oats
Variety: Gerald
Yield: 6.4t/ha (2.6t/acre)