Philip Gorringe had been combining for the past few days, but was stopped at midnight last night by a third of an inch of rain at Lower Blakemere Farm, Herefordshire.

“It’s only the standing wheat to cut so it is not the end of the world. It’s a bit bold to say there will not be rain in the whole harvest.”

With 44ha (110ac) remaining to cut, wheat has performed very well. Yields were above average with 18ha (45ac) of Robigus yielding 9.4t/ha (3.75t/ac), 14ha (35ac) of new variety Humber yielding just over 10t/ha (4t/ac) and Einstein yielding similarly at 10t/ha (4t/ac).

“We’re very pleased – yields are good for us. Robigus was on a stony field so it was good enough for us.”

Quality was fine for seed with a lovely looking sample, but bushel weights were not as high as expected, particularly on Robigus which had been cut before rainfall.

“We thought it would be very heavy. Since it rained bushel weights have been surprisingly low, but it doesn’t concern us too much as the crop is for seed.”

New pea variety Meridian slightly out-yielded Starlight peas at a below-average 4.4t/ha (1.75t/ac), but he said quality was excellent. “They were a really nice colour and in nice condition.”

Next year Mr Gorringe planned to grow more Humber wheat because “it looks very like that variety is going places”. He also planned to grow more Robigus and Glasgow.

He was not yet concerned for quality of remaining crops due to the rain because they were all still standing.

“I’m happy to dry bits if moisture is high because we haven’t had to dry much else yet. We’re still in August and it’s unusual for us to finish in August anyway so we’re not deeply worried yet.”

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Area: 18ha (45ac)
• Variety: Robigus
• Yield: 9.4t/ha (3.75t/ac)

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Area: 14ha (35ac)
• Variety: Humber
• Yield: 10t/ha (4t/ac)

• Crop: Winter wheat
• Area: N/A
• Variety: Einstein
• Yield: 10t/ha

• Crop: Peas
• Area: N/A
• Variety: Starlight and Meridian
• Yield: 4.4t/ha (1.75t/ac)