Harvest is speeding along at Peter Fairs’ farms near Great Tey, Colchester, Essex, with 2500t of wheat, 1000t of oilseed rape and 200t of peas now cut.

“We’ve had a very good start – I don’t think we’ve been this far ahead for quite a few years,” he said. 

“We’re going as fast as we can while the weather holds.”

Mr Fairs had to dry some of the earliest wheat, sold in equal daily quantities to fetch an early premium. “We sprayed it off and it was only just ready.”

Oakley yielded well, with Solstice producing a nice quality sample but disappointing yields. “We just started on the Scout today (2 August) so it’s too early to tell how that’s doing.”

Excalibur and Cabernet oilseed rape was mixed, with crops on the heavier soils performing the best, he added.

“We knew that on the gravelly soil it wasn’t going to be so good, because it just died off.”

Kabuki peas were also disappointing on light land, but the Prophet had done better on the heavier soil.