Essex farmer Tom Bradshaw says his spring barley harvest is exceeding expectations at Fordham, near Colchester.

The malting variety Charmay shown being cut here yielded a healthy 2.9t/acre, coming off the field at 16.5% moisture.

Destined for Carlsberg, germination is good, screenings are low and quality is high.

Fields are soft underfoot, but Mr Bradshaw said he had few complaints.

Johann Tasker on G+