“We’re progressing reasonably well – we’ve got off quite easily but have a good 10 – 14 days ahead of us,” said Wiltshire farmer Tim Horton.

Only a small amount of milling wheat had been cut, with Hereward yielding 9 – 9.5t/ha. Feed wheat was “looking promising” with a small amount of Gladiator and Denby yielding 9.5 – 10t/ha.

Spring barley was cutting “very well” with Optic yielding 7.5 – 7.8t/ha, and Tipple yielding slightly better.

“It has a bold grain so quality should be good. I hope it has not lost any germination.”

Oilseed rape had shown a “mixed picture”, but he was pleased to have seen better yields than there had been in some places. Yields were fairly average at 3.6/7t/ha – 4.6/7t/ha between Excalibur, Castille, Lioness and Astrid.

Mr Horton said: “The variation was more down to how it grew and how it was established. The seed is smaller than I would have liked but generally it is not too bad.”

He added: “It’s a question of taking the crops off one at a time and just avoiding any rain showers.”

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Variety: Hereward, Gladiator and Denby
• Area: N/A
• Yield: Hereward 9 – 9.5t/ha, Gladiator and Denby  9.5 – 10t/ha

• Crop: Spring barley
• Variety: Tipple, Optic
• Area: N/A
• Yield: 7.5 – 7.8t/ha

• Crop: Oilseed rape
• Variety: Excalibur, Castille, Lioness, Astrid
• Area: N/A
• Yield: 3.6/7 – 4.6/7t/ha