CHRIS Stevenson from Grainfarmers in Lincs, says “it‘s dreadfully wet”.

Two weekends ago (7 Aug) Hagbergs were at 300. Then last weekend they dropped to 200 and now the latest sample had Hagbergs at 150.

“Now there‘s little chance of any quality coming off the field.”

Mr Stevenson said that, at best, only 30% of the wheat has been cut, even though some farmers have been combining at 22% moisture.

There have been cases of combines getting stuck in the field and then getting damaged when attempts are made to tow them out again.

He‘s also concerned the seed crop will soon start to germinate leaving it worthless.

Much of the milling wheat will have to be sold for feed, although Mr Stevenson predicts millers will lower their specifications to account for the difficult harvest conditions.

And he confirms he has seen evidence of grain damage from orange blossom midge in the area.

“It‘s getting into the grain and encouraging it to sprout which is causing Hagbergs to drop even more.”

“The timing is awful just going into the single farm payment with such low returns – people in the area are relating this year to the wet harvest of 1987.”