As much of the cereal harvest draws to a close thanks to a spell of dry weather, farmers reflect on a difficult season, with many looking ahead to next year as good progress with drilling is made.

See also: 2 farmers’ autumn drilling plans after last year’s wet weather

Northern Ireland

In Northen Ireland, Richard Kane is down to the final few hectares of his 121ha spring barley following the worst nine months of weather he has ever experienced at Broglasgow House. “It’s yielding well, at 8.65t/ha,” he says.

“I couldn’t even get the winter crops drilled – we only managed to plant 12ha of Dawsum winter wheat, which yielded 7.4t/ha.”

Duplo oilseed rape achieved 3t/ha across 72ha. “Hopefully we will be finished next week – it’s very late for us.”

Perthshire

In Scotland, at Strathisla Farms, near Meigle, Adrian Ivory is saving the best for last as his 141ha of Fairing spring barley is coming in at 16% moisture, a marked improvement from the 22% seen earlier in the harvest.

“It’s grown for the high nitrogen market, and it’s achieving 7t/ha,” he says.

He is also pleased with his 404ha of Sassy spring barley, which averaged 6.9t/ha. “The nitrogen content was low at 1.3-1.4%, and considering the year we’ve had, the yield is a lot better than I thought it would be.”

The 97ha of Skyscraper and Redwald winter wheat averaged 9.1t/ha, with specific weights ranging from 74-82kg/hl, while the 52ha of Caravelle and Kingston winter barley both averaged 8.6t/ha at 67kg/hl.

Northumberland

Across the border, harvest has wrapped up for Carl Tuer at Rock Farms, near Alnwick, with yields down 30% down on all crops across his 809ha. “The majority of our crops were good – they just didn’t yield,” he says.

As someone who sows early, this year’s conditions were particularly tough. “The crops just never filled properly.”

His 40ha Dalguise oats did perform marginally better than the rest, yielding 8t/ha. “That’s the best of the bunch.”

Staffordshire

In the West Midlands, Stephen Sant at Model Farm near Hanchurch, Stoke-on-Trent, hopes to finish today (20 September), cutting the final 14ha of the 60ha of Dawsum and Extase winter wheat.

“It’s yielding 9t/ha, which is slightly down but better than expected, coming in at 18% moisture,” he says.

In terms of quality, it has achieved a specific weight of 78kg/hl. He hopes to put the combine away before making a start on his spring beans in a few weeks.

Haverfordwest

Heading into south-west Wales, Geoff Thomas at Pantycoch Farm near Letterston, hopes to finish harvest today (20 September) after what he describes as an average year.

There have not been any disasters, he says. His 121ha of Skyway and Laureate spring barley has achieved 6-7t/ha, with just 4ha left to cut.

“The Skyway appears to be a better sample, but there hasn’t been much difference in yield between the two.”

Of the 97ha of winter barley – Kingsbarn, Lightning and Bolton – he found the hybrid, Kingsbarn, was the top performer, yielding 8.6t/ha compared to 6.8t/ha for Lightning and Bolton. “The sample wasn’t that brilliant either.”

If the weather remains good, he plans to move into his 4ha of triticale next. “This harvest has been hard on everyone, it’s been hard on the machinery too – but you can’t do anything about the weather.

“There’s no point in worrying about it – worry about the things you can control instead.”