Bumper harvests in 'dustbowl' Shropshire

Many of Shropshire's arable farmers have enjoyed a bumper harvest despite the county's 'dustbowl' conditions, a farming expert claims.

Yields are above average for wheat and for many rapeseed farmers, according to independent agronomist Bryce Rham. But he warned farmers still need more rain to ensure the harvest remained strong. Mr Rham said: "Most of the wheat is yielding above average, and pretty much everyone has above average rapeseed.

"I would say that before the weekend we were 85 per cent of the way through harvest, and 75 to 80 per cent of combines had finished.

"Shropshire is like a dustbowl. A lot of farmers have never seen it so dry, even after the summer of 1976. Unless we get some decent rain it's going to be a real problem."

Wheat yields have ranged from 7.9 tonne per hectare (3.2 tonne an acre) to more than 12.4 tonne per hectare (five tonne an acre), he said.

Oliver Cartwright, NFU Shropshire spokesman, confirmed many crop yields were up this year, but it had been a mixed bag overall.

Mr Cartwright said: "The harvest is well advanced in Shropshire with many farmers now finishing up.

"This year it has been a mixed bag with bumper crops of raspberries, strawberries and other soft fruit whereas winter barley and some vegetables have struggled a little. We had a late spring and a warm and wet summer, the record-breaking dry spell has left some areas parched but despite this Shropshire farmers have recorded higher crop yields than expected.

"Wheat, spring barley and winter oats appear to be up and now we are just waiting to see how the county has performed against the rest of the country."

He added: "We have our fingers crossed that autumn and winter seasonal favourites like sprouts, beans and cabbage will come through unscathed."

Farmer Tim Edwards, based at Spoonley Farm, Llansantffraid, said arable farmers had reported good yields, adding: "I think we'll find we will be down a bit from previous years' yields when we do our second cut."