Richard Brown has been combining oilseed rape at Priors Farm, Newbury, Berkshire, but has stopped today (28 July) as the remainder is not fit.

So far he had cut 34ha (85 acres) of Sesame, and was very pleased with yields of about 4.3t/ha (1.75t/acre).

“In places it did a good 5t/ha (2t/acre) but it wouldn’t have averaged that. Even so, it’s probably the best we’ve grown.”

However, the remaining 6ha (15 acres) would not yield so well, he added. “Like a lot of crops in the areas, it got frosted in a very late May frost, and has grown a lot of secondary tillers, so it’s still too green to cut.”

Mr Brown expected to be back into the rapeseed at the weekend, with Husky spring oats likely to come next week. “I don’t think we’ll grow them again – we’ll probably up our wheat and oilseed rape acreage instead.”

Spring barley and winter wheat harvest was still about three weeks away, he added. “The barley is filling nicely – it’s a bit thin on the ground but if the bushelweight is good we have still got the potential for some yield.

“The wheats are much the same. It’s nothing like as disastrous as we thought it would be a couple of months ago.”

Crop: Oilseed rape
Variety: Sesame
Area: 34ha (85 acres)
Yield: 4.3t.ha (1.75t/acre)