Sorry, for the start of harvest I am not going to talk about the weather again. It has been a “mainly stop and little start” harvest.

We have personally had nothing ready to cut, but have been busy helping our neighbour who we work with, and helping out with a neighbouring estate that was getting a little behind and is now back on track.

See also: Video: Snatch-and-go start to Somerset winter wheat harvest

About the author

Robin Aird

Arable Farmer Focus writer Robin Aird manages 1500ha on the north Wiltshire and Gloucestershire border, with a further 160ha on a contract farming agreement. Soils vary from gravel to clay with the majority silty clay loams. The diverse estate has Residential, commercial and events enterprises. He is Basis qualified and advises on other farming businesses.

Read more articles by Robin Aird

We put the Grange loosener through all our rye ground to remove a layer of compaction that was starting to affect crops.

We then drilled the fodder and forage rape mix with the Vaderstad Carrier and BioDrill. These have emerged beautifully with the rain and are already putting out their first true leaf.
 
The machinery is having a pre-harvest inspection and service before it is needed, and yards and the workshop are also having a good spring clean.

We have just hosted the Womad music festival. It has been with us since 2007 and we are getting rather good at dealing with wet ones.

The latest was fairly trying in terms of the weather, but the staff and crew did an amazing job of protecting the grassland. 

The grant-funded road has been dug out, and large stone has been laid. We just need to crush some more stone to create the finished top layer.

One of the advantages of this weather is that it has allowed me to digest the latest Sustainable Farming Incentive offerings, and I am looking forward to integrating some of these into our current schemes and rotation.

The spring wheat has enjoyed the wet weather and the ears and grains look to have filled well.

It’s just a pity that there are not more of them to the square metre. The winter wheat is now fit, and we will be cutting as soon as the sun comes out to play.