Oilseed rape is still a few days off at Giles Porter’s Penn Croft Farms, Farnham, Surrey, so he has been busy combining winter barley for a neighbour.

“It weighed reasonably well on the combine – I think it yielded about 8.75t/ha (3.5t/acre), and there was lots of straw.”

Mr Porter hoped to be into his oilseed rape within the next couple of days, depending on the weather, with rye ready to combine next week.

“I was fairly optimistic about the crops, but the more I walk into them the less optimistic I get.

“The wheat has begun to go off, even on the better ground, and I’m a little bit nervous now.”

A lot of rapeseed in the area was desiccated about 10 days ago (10 July) so would be ready to cut early next week, he added.

Crop: Winter barley (feed)
Area: 43ha (105 acres)
Yield: 8.75t/ha (3.5t/acre)