Essex farmer Andrew Kerr said harvest was nearly over at Wyldingtree Farm, with only 16ha of oilseed rape left to be cut.

“Harvest has been quite good because we got two inches of rain in June which others didn’t really get.”

Hereward, Robigus and Alchemy winter wheat averaged just under 10t/ha over 144ha. He said Robigus was the “star crop”, averaging 11t/ha, whereas Alchemy yielded just over 8t/ha. “Yields were on a par with last year, but the second wheats were a little disappointing.”

Moisture content averaged 12 – 16%. “We direct drilled and conserved moisture which helped the crops. There were enormous cracks in the ground from the heat.”

Hereward quality was “excellent” with bushel weights up to 85kg/hl, protein of 14.5% and Hagbergs of 300 – 400. Bushel weights for Robigus were over 80kg/hl, and Alchemy was at 78kg/hl.

He added: “The Hereward went to Camgrain, but the Robigus and Alchemy has not been sold yet.”

Mr Kerr planned to grow mainly Robigus with a bit of Solstice next year to “keep it simple”. He hoped to cut the remaining Lioness oilseed rape by the end of the week having “ignored it for the wheat”.

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Variety: Robigus
• Area: 144ha in total
• Yield: 11t/ha
• Quality: 80kg/hl bushel weight

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Variety: Alchemy
• Area: 144ha in total
• Yield: just over 8t/ha
• Quality: 78kg/hl bushel weight

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Variety: Hereward
• Area: 144ha in total
• Yield: just under 10t/ha
• Quality: 85kg/hl bushel weight, protein 14.5%, Hg 300 – 400