Harvest has got off to a challenging start, with more days parked up than cutting so far. Yields have been variable, with winter barley slightly disappointing.

Oilseed rape is not very exciting – just scraping the average, while the winter wheat has produced a mix of average and good.

Hopefully, the milling wheat will hit the specification and lift our spirits.

See also: Harvest highlights: High moisture contents and lodged crops

About the author

Matt Redman

Farmer Focus writer

Matt Redman farms 370ha just north of Cambridge and operates a contracting business specialising in spraying and direct-drilling. He also grows cereals on a small area of tenancy land and was Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year in 2014.

Contact:

Email: office@mattredmanag.co.uk

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@redmanmatt

Read more articles by Matt Redman

I have been growing a mix of Group 4 soft and hard wheats for the past couple of years, but storage is a headache.

Going forward, with the generally dirtier nature of Skyscraper and Spotlight, I have decided to concentrate on Group 4 hard wheats, along with Extase.

Next year’s cropping is being finalised, and simplicity is the main aim. I’ve tried to be clever over the past and split my risk with various break crops such as peas and beans, linseed and failed oilseed rape.

However, the end result is usually the same – mediocre crops and added work complications, not to mention an increasing number of cans of crop-specific chemicals.

So, next year I am sticking to winter beans on part of the farm I haven’t grown them before, as well as wheat.

It’s encouraging that fertiliser prices have fallen, but with grain prices significantly lower, and other inputs rising, budgeting is far from an enjoyable experience.

I went to the Royal Welsh Show for the first time and was very impressed.

It was great to see a show that is agricultural through and through, rather than one of the “country” type shows desperately trying to cling onto some form of agricultural link.

It was good to see livestock sheds and show rings full of animals.

As an apprentice helping to show dairy cows, I also got to see first hand the interaction of showgoers walking around the cattle lines.

It’s a shame big agricultural shows are few and far between these days as they not only provide a fantastic stage to promote the industry, but also a great social event.

Throw in some competitions and overly polished machinery on display and it’s a recipe for a great few days off the farm.