Gordon:

Over here in Hertfordshire, harvest has been stop-start, as it has been for everyone else I'm sure, the 2 mm of rain yesterday (Thursday) morning was not expected and put a halt to harvest plans for the day.

The OSR crop was disappointing, with a large plant biomass but a shortage of pods. We have already drilled next year's crop in the hope it will get ahead of the flea beetle.

The Oat crop has been harvested and delivered into Linton today, yield is slightly below budget, but we did receive 75 mm of rain in 3 hours a few weeks ago which put large areas flat to the ground; even for a modern combine that is a challenge and considerably slows the work rate.

The wheat is fit to harvest and we shall be busy filling both our own stores as well as sending into Camgrain, I have booked my lorries for next week. I just hope the forecast is correct and we have a dry week!! This is one of the latest harvests I have known although Dad says that when he started, with much older varieties, harvest would not start before early August.

Jim:

Meanwhile I have been at home recovering from an operation... "whilst frustrating at least it has allowed me to catch up on a few things. In particular I have watched Clarksons Farm. Even allowing for some sensationalism and exaggeration it is an excellent representation of the challenges of farming. He started in the worst possible year with the wet autumn of 2019 but even so to barely break even on 1000 acres is a sobering thought. Many people have said they learned more about farming through this than in 10 years of Countryfile! Perhaps the best bit is to see Jeremy's look of incredulity every time he is told about another bit of bureaucracy. Hopefully the general public now understands a bit more about farming."

Wishing you all a safe and secure harvest

Gordon & Jim Paice