Farmers should have all their wheat sampled and tested as even feed wheat varieties could be worth a significant premium if they are of good quality, say traders.

With such a wide range in quality, from very poor, sprouted samples to big, bold grains, feed wheat prices could be anywhere from £85-£120/t.

“You don’t know what it’s worth until you’ve seen a sample,” said Julian Walker of Shropshire Grain.

“If you don’t get it sampled there are going to be some wasted opportunities.”

Most farmers had finished harvest in the Shropshire area, but rapeseed drilling was dramatically down, he said.

Grainfarmers’ Simon Ingle expected there to be a further impact on wheat plantings due to the wet conditions and poor prices.

“With wheat prices as they are you have to ask the question whether farmers will drill as much wheat as they did last autumn.”

In Worcestershire there were still producers with quite a lot of wheat to finish, said Jeff Russell of Western Arable Services.

“I would have thought most people will finish up by the weekend. Everybody is drying like mad and there’s stuff piled up in front of dryers.”

Harvest was progressing well in Scotland and the north of England, said Frontier’s Alan Macauley.

“Hopefully this week we should finish most of it off.” Although the remaining wheat and barley was mostly still standing, sprouting was a common problem, he added.