And it’s still raining – a further 30mm over the weekend has continued to make farming challenging. Fields are getting soft even for travelling.

In most fields, 50% has now lodged, which is very frustrating. At the moment, if the rain stopped and the crop was allowed to dry the combine would get underneath it and we would get 95%.

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About the author

Richard Orr

Richard Orr farms cereals and potatoes in a reduced cultivation system in County Down, Northern Ireland, with his wife and two children. He is a cereals and oilseeds sector council member and focuses on soil and plant health. He also keeps a small number of cattle, pigs and sheep.

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If it continues wet it will rot or sprout, and neither would be a pretty outcome.

Keeping on top of important work such as blight spraying has been very tricky for everyone locally, with wet and warm conditions the ideal breeding ground.

Add in the reduction in effective chemistry to combat it and everyone could be in for a tricky summer.

The same can be said for grain: too dry in May and now too wet in July, although I have no winter barley to harvest.

For the neighbouring farmers it’s the same story: snatch and grab while you can.

My own wheat is about two weeks from harvest and is/was full of potential – the best since 2008 in my opinion. (Funny that turned out to be an awful wet harvest too.)

But potential is all it is, because until it’s in the shed it’s anything but safe.

Given these are the most expensive grain crops I’ve ever grown, and probably all of us have ever grown, every grain will be important.

Fingers crossed the sun moves up from Europe and gives us a chance.

Currently deciding if beans need to be wholecropped or combined. Hopefully, by the time of next writing the wheat will be safely in the shed.