Clive Tory has had an exceptional year at Lower Almer Farms Ltd, Blandford Forum, Dorset, with high yields across the board.

“We’ve finished cutting and all in all, we’ve had a pretty good time,” he said.

Crusoe winter wheat was a great success, hitting milling quality at 13.28% protein. Yield was 11.4t/ha with a bushel weight of 81kg/hl. “At best, the protein reached 13.7%, which was very exciting.”

The 150ha of feed wheats Dickens and JB Diego were very pleasing at 10.4t/ha, although Mr Tory had anticipated slightly higher yields.

“Last year was a struggle but we still had a good wheat yield, and this year has been even better with a good growing season,” he added.

See also: Switch to spring cropping to get on top of blackgrass.

Winter oilseed rape yielded 4.4t/ha after drying at Wessex Grain. “With mixed reports around the area, we’ve had a very good year in comparison to others.”

Wizard winter beans yields were still to be confirmed, although Mr Tory was hoping for at least 6t/ha.

“We’ve had some very good yields in the past and they’ve been looking good all year, so it’s all fingers crossed.”

Mr Tory was well underway with sowing next year’s oilseed rape, split between Harper, Advance and Quartz. “We got it in the ground early and it’s had pre-emergence spray over the weekend,” he said.

“We’ve also been busy soil testing and we’re planning to variably apply inputs which will be interesting,” he said. “We’re learning something new every year.”