Wheat yields and quality are the worst Peter Kendall can remember at Church Farm, Sandy, Bedfordshire, but he knows he’s been luckier than some.

“In our part of the world on heavy land, yields have been down by 25%, and quality is very poor,” he said.

“Crops that were looking to be so full of potential two months ago have struggled to do 7.4t/ha as a first wheat, and I’m starting to dislike harvest with a vengeance.

“We’ve got the poorest yields and quality I can remember, and have spent more money on fungicides this year than ever before, at up to £100/ha in places,” he added.

“Even after that, we’re still left with shrivelled apologies for grain. I’ve never seen such sorry looking wheat – there have been some awful bushel weights about.”

However, knowing that some farmers in the West and North had scarcely managed to start harvest, Mr Kendall was thankful that the weather had been kinder in Bedfordshire.

“We’ll hopefully finish the wheat early next week, while elsewhere people are having to renege on straw contracts and chop the straw just to get the fields cleared.”