Michael Manners has cut some winter barley at Conicliffe Grange, Staindrop, Darlington, and hopes to start oilseed rape tomorrow (29 July).

“We don’t normally grow winter barley, and it certainly wasn’t a harvest highlight,” he said. “It was a hybrid seed crop gone wrong.”

Having sprayed off some Marcant high erucic acid oilseed rape last Friday, he hoped to start combining again tomorrow.

“I’m cautiously optimistic. There’s been a bit of winter barley cut around here, but not much rape.”

Viscount, Gallant, Grafton and Duxford winter wheats were still about two weeks away from ripening.

“I don’t think they has suffered a lot. When I sprayed at flag leaf it looked like doom and gloom, but we had rain two to three weeks ago which transformed them.”