Wet autumn caused late Cornwall harvest

John Moss from Howton Farm in Cornwall expected to start cutting crops by the weekend. This would be later than normal, which he put down to the very wet autumn and dry, cold winter and spring. “We were very concerned but things are looking more promising now.”

He expected to have started spraying oilseed rape off a few days ago, however, the rain meant crops were too wet. He mainly grows Castille, which “had the edge last year” over Caracus, which he has also grown this year.

Mr Moss planned for all his winter barley to go for feed, with Saffron looking particularly well over Pearl. The late-drilled wheats and barley suffered from the wet autumn, he said, despite the good conditions in November and December.

He added: “We’ve had our fair share of problems but it’s coming together now. I don’t think we’ll quite meet our average this year.”