Harvest Begins Between The Showers

Today, the 18th July, saw the start of the harvest at Overbury. It is still quite early for us, the average start date is on the 24th July and considering the wet weather through June and July it is amazing that the crops have ripened at all. We have started in a field called 'Horse Close' and we are cutting Oilseed Rape, a variety called Castille. It's too early to assess the yield but the moisture started at 15.5% for the first load. The second load was better at 13.5%. We need to store the crop between 6-9% so Graham will be busy in the drier. The weather forecast looks OK for today and tomorrow then rain on Friday, so we're pressing on to grab what we can before the rains arrive again. Heavy rain on a ripe crop of rape will cause the pods to shatter, spreading the seeds all over the ground and lost to the combine, therefore reducing the yield. It's worth drying rather than loosing it! It could be a late night!