Harvest progress report: 14 July 2025

For the next few weeks, each Monday we are sharing the first-hand accounts of farmers across the country during the UK harvest.

Last week, harvest activity picked up pace across the UK, with winter barley now being cut in nearly every region – Scotland will begin any day now.

Here’s a round-up of harvest progress from Hectare Trading users across the country.

South

Harvest is now in full swing across the South. In Sussex, at least one grower has already finished their winter barley harvest – one of the earliest completions we’ve heard of so far. Further north in Surrey, one farmer has just started cutting barley. In Hertfordshire, barley was expected to begin late last week or early this week, depending on moisture test results.

There’s been little OSR movement reported in the South so far, with most growers still waiting on drier conditions.

Wheat across the region remains some way off. In Hertfordshire, growers say crops are still a few weeks from being ready.

The general outlook for wheat across the region is to start the harvest in a few weeks’ time, as crops continue to mature, but some farmers who have experienced drier conditions will be earlier.

East

Growers in the East report having finished cutting winter barley. In Norfolk, Ed Lankfer of RW & CV Lankfer has reported good barley yields, and one farmer near King’s Lynn shared that a neighbouring farm’s winter barley crop reached 11.5 t/ha – an outstanding result.

Many farmers report that the OSR harvest got underway last week.

Wheat is not far off in this region and, if dry conditions continue, harvest could begin within the next week or so.

Midlands

In the East Midlands, Michael Squires of HT Squires and Son is midway through the winter barley harvest. He reports that despite bold-looking grains, yields are “decidedly average due to the sustained dry weather we've experienced.”

In Staffordshire, we heard reports that OSR cutting has started and is progressing well.

The ongoing warm weather has also accelerated the ripening of winter wheat, prompting plans for an earlier-than-expected harvest within the next two weeks. However, crops are looking a little thin in places, and some farmers are predicting a straw shortage this year.

North

The winter barley harvest is just getting started in Yorkshire and County Durham, with several growers reporting they began cutting last week. Early signs suggest yields may be slightly down on last year.

No significant OSR activity has been reported yet from the North.

Wheat remains unharvested for now and is expected to follow in the coming weeks.

Harvest progress may be slowed by predicted wet weather affecting Northern England and Scotland.

Scotland

Some farmers in Scotland are cutting rye, while the winter barley harvest is expected to begin very soon – much earlier than is typical for the region.

OSR is still to come, with cutting likely to begin shortly after barley.

Wheat is also maturing more quickly than usual, and harvest is expected to follow not long after OSR. Encouragingly, yields so far are looking strong across the board.