Tom Hipwell is about half-way through his wheat at Hill Farm, Sandy, Bedfordshire, and is reasonably happy with progress so far.

“Yields are certainly better than expected, considering how we had to muddle them in in the autumn,” he said.

Today (29 August), he was combining Diego winter wheat, which was yielding 7.4-8.6t/ha. “The good wheat is good, but there are quite a lot of thin patches.”

After the Diego, Mr Hipwell planned to move into Oakley, which looks alright as a first wheat, he said.

Cabernet oilseed rape produced a good average for the farm – and yielded better than it looked.

“Our progress is probably on par for the area, although my immediate neighbour is always a little further on than us. We have been drilling oilseed rape, so I console myself with that.”

Crop: Winter wheat
Variety: Diego
Area: 243ha
Yield: 7.4-8.6t/ha