Country diary: Harvest time has arrived – and it’s three weeks earlier than 20 years ago | Colin Chappell

Brigg, Lincolnshire: It’ll take six weeks to cut it all, starting with barley and likely ending with beans. Thank goodness the combine has air-conditioning The crops have managed to survive winter flooding (almost) and two heatwaves, but another hot spell of weather is on the way as we embark on the enormous task of harvesting our crops. Winter barley for seed is usually first, followed by oilseed rape (OSR), then probably wheat. Beans are nearly always last to be cut, often in September, but even these are heading towards the exit now in early July. Harvest 20 years ago would start around the third week in July, but has crept forward by three weeks since then. The earlier harvest is good in a way, although it does curb our yields as the plants cannot ripen properly and the heat accelerates growth, but it does mean we’re cutting crops in longer daylight and don’t have to spend money drying them. Moisture content is also vital: to be acceptable to the merchant, wheat and barley must be below 15% moisture and oilseed rape below 9%, as that helps prevent storage issues such as moulds and pests. But moisture is also susceptible to the heat: I’ve read that in France, maize crops