Torrential rain and more weather warnings have brought harvest in the West Country to a grinding halt once again.

So far Charlie Watson-Smyth had cut 80ha of Cassia winter barley at Tregirls Farm, Padstow, Cornwall, with rather poor results.

“The winter barley has been abysmal,” he said. “We got about 8.1t/ha but the bushel weight was nearly as low as 60kg/hl due to lack of sun.”

Winter wheat didn’t fare much better, only just making the feed grade.

“We had 20ha of Diego, which was borderline on bushel weight, and just made the grade. That achieved about 6.25t/ha.”

Despite poor winter crops, Mr Watson-Smyth remained optimistic about the spring crops.

“Spring barley is looking good and is just ripe. We’ve cut 8ha of it so far and I’m pleased.”

However, high winds and rain had curtailed hopes of combining any more today (15 August).
 
“It was wet this morning and although it has dried out a lot now the wind is just terrible.”

Crop: Winter Barley
Variety: Cassia
Area: 80ha
Yield: 8.1t/ha

Crop: Winter Wheat
Variety: Diego
Area: 20ha
Yield: 6.25t/ha