Ian Moncrieff has almost finished combining spring barley at Berry Hill Farm, Dundee, and is now moving into winter wheat.

“We had a very good week last week, so most of the spring barley has been cleared around here,” he said. “But there’s a lot of wheat to do.”

Concerto spring barley had yielded about 6.2t/ha, and looked to be a nice sample. “It came off at 15-16% moisture, which saves a lot of money.

“I’ve still got a little bit left to cut on the hill – it was a bit wet last night (9 September) so we’re silaging today and will get the rest of the barley done tomorrow.”

Winter barley was unremarkable, yielding just over 7.4t/ha, although the Pearl had made the malting grade, said Mr Moncrieff.

“I’ve cut 12ha of wheat, which had gone a bit flat. It’s probably done over 7.4t/ha but it won’t be a record-breaker. It’s Istabraq and the sample looks okay.”

Most farmers were about 50-60% through harvest in the area, with a lot of wheat still to cut, he added.

“I’ve got a four-wheel drive combine, which has been a Godsend. The ground has dried up a little bit over the past week, but there are still some bad spots.”

Oilseed rape yields had been really quite bad, at just over 2.5t/ha. “Last year we almost averaged 5t/ha.

“But I’ve now managed to drill 49ha of oilseed rape, which has gone into pretty good conditions. I haven’t managed to get the pre-emergence sprays on, but at least it’s in.”

Crop: Winter barley
Varieties: Pearl and Sequel
Yield: >7.4t/ha

Crop: Spring barley
Variety: Concerto
Yield: 6.2t/ha

Crop: Winter wheat
Variety: Istabraq
Area: 12ha
Yield: >7.4t/ha

Crop: Oilseed rape
Variety: Cracker
Yield: >2.5t/ha