Father-and-son team Philip and Chris Hardy’s north Nottinghamshire winter barley harvest is going better than originally expected, with the variety Hawking yielding an exceptional 9.4t/ha.

Harvest started on 17 July and quality is looking good, despite crops suffering from late frosts in April, with a specific weight of 68kg/hl and moisture content of 12.9%.

“We usually struggle to get 3.5t/acre [8.7t/ha]. We have touched 4t/acre [9.9t/ha] in the past, but after this season we are pleasantly surprised with results so far,” he says.

© Chris Hardy

See also: Winter barley harvest kicks off two weeks later than usual

Farming a small 40ha arable farm near Gainsborough, they also planted the variety Orwell, which is yielding less at 6.6t/ha, with a specific weight of 62kg/hl .

Mr Hardy suspects Hawking’s better performance is due to it being drilled following a fallow crop of mustard at 210kg/ha during the last week of September. Orwell also suffered greater frost attacks.

Crops were cut with a 1985 Massey Ferguson 860 with 4,000 hours on the clock, and were drilled with a 1970s Massey Ferguson 30 disc drill.

“The drill really suits the farm’s heavy loam soils, as its lightweight structure reduces compaction risks so we can easily travel on the ground, offering us a simple and easy-to-use establishment technique,” he says.

Mr Hardy usually commences harvest in mid- to late July, which means this year crop has ripened no later than usual – in fact, he started cutting on the same day as in 2018.

Next to cut will be winter linseed in about 10 days’ time, followed by winter wheat and then winter beans.

“We normally grow spring linseed, but because of the past two dry springs and establishment difficulties, we’ve opted for winter linseed. We have not had a problem harvesting before, but winter linseed comes with more straw, so we will have to see how it goes,” he says.