Robert Spencer started combining winter wheat at Lower Garrington Farm, Canterbury, Kent, this morning (1 August); three days earlier than last year.

 “It’s too early to tell how the wheat is yielding, but the bushelweight is good and the sample looks fantastic.”

He had hoped to start cutting the Cordiale before the weekend. “It’s wasn’t quite fit on Friday, but we had a very hot day yesterday and it’s surprised me by how ripe it is today.”

Mr Spencer was thrilled with his oilseed rape yields. “It’s been the best rapeseed year ever.”

Cabernet ranged from 3t/ha (1.2t/acre) in a field affected by club root, to 5.5t/ha (2.2t/acre), and averaged 5t/ha (2t/acre).

Vision was about 0.5t/ha (0.2t/acre) below that, so still very pleasing, he said.

Beans, grown on chalky and brick-earth soil, looked amazingly well. “I always thought they suffered in drought, but they seem to have found the water from somewhere.”

But crops on any fields with gravelly patches did look very poor, with a lot of secondary tillering in wheat and oats, he added.

Crop: Oilseed rape
Variety: Cabernet
Area: 55ha (136 acres)
Yield: 5t/ha (2t/acre)

Variety: Vision
Area: 38ha (94 acres)
Yield: 4.5t/ha (1.8t/acre)