Poor weather and rural crime hit yields at Bucks farm
19th August 2025
Richard Heady says yields have been “thoroughly disappointing” this year, though crops were grown on a budget.
Despite a promising start to the harvest in July, Richard Heady says it “all went downhill from there” with yields down and crop damage caused by a joyrider driving through one field.
Harvest at W. F. Heady & Sons, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, started with winter barley on 12thJuly – which is early, but similar to other hot, dry years such as 2018 and 2022.
“What was unusual though, was following the barley with winter beans,” he explained. “We typically harvest the beans as our last crop in September, but by the 28th July the pods were splitting open and the beans threatening to shed out, so we harvested them next.”
Richard added: “At this point harvest wasn’t looking as bad as expected, with both the barley and beans bang on our farms yield average, although the beans were small.
“Unfortunately it was all downhill from there. From this point onwards I got used to the sinking feeling as I drove around the field in the combine and covered nearly twice the usual distance before getting a full tank.”
Late drilling and SFI issues
The winter wheat was mostly drilled very late in November due to the heavy rain in September and October, so it had to germinate in cold, wet winter conditions. However, the spring wheat was drilled on time in early March. Despite a promising start, there was just 14mm of rain from drilling until the end of May, which Richard noted “even in our clay soils was a tough ask”.
Waiting for an SFI agreement to come through, which ultimately never did, also held them up.
“We were caught out at drilling time back in March as we had left fields untouched in stubble waiting for our SFI agreement to come through, and when it didn’t we had no choice but to direct drill spring wheat into them to retain the moisture (even though they were very tight and in need of some cultivation).”
Needless to say, Richard says these were “thoroughly disappointing crops come harvest”.
This year they grew strong varieties that have done well for them in the past – Palladium, Illustrious winter wheats and Ladum spring wheat – but conditions were against them this year.
“Both the winter and spring wheats were terrible, with yields down about a third from our farm average. I have my fingers crossed that quality will be ok, as the grain looks dark in colour and is not too pinched, but there are quite a few small grains in the sample.”
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Grown on a budget
Despite this, Richard added that it’s some consolation that the crops were grown on a budget, with disease pressure low, and minimal need for grain drying.
They used mainly home saved seed (royalties paid to BSPB) and direct drilled and min tilled where possible.
“We cut down our fungicide usage and got away with lover value products as disease pressure remained low in the dry weather. We also adjusted our fertiliser applications as the season progressed, taking a realistic view of yield potential.
“I am also looking forward to a lower electricity bill, as we will hardly need to dry any grain, with only a few wet headlands of barley and spring oats to dry, and most of the grain coming in between 13–16%.
“Keeping with the positives, this harvest was almost ergot free, after a couple of really bad ergot years, and I only found a few bits in a headland tank full that was largely flattened by deer.”
Joyrider damaged crops
Adding to an already tough year, a joyrider drove over one of Richard’s fields, flattening the wheat just as it was ready to be harvested.
“As I was heading around the winter wheat fields with the moisture meter deciding on the order in which to harvest them, I found some flattered wheat where a moron decided to take a car for a spin in one of the fields.
“Luckily the damage was confined to one corner, and although it was maddening at the time, we managed to pick up about half the flattened crop with the lifters, and at current market prices, I can hardly claim it cost us a lot.”
Richard said it’s unlikely they will catch the culprit, as it could have happened anytime in the three weeks prior to discovering the damage. However, it’s important to report rural crimes, he added.
“It’s so hard for the police to tackle sporadic crimes like this, but we are lucky to have a strong rural crime unit in Thames Valley, and open communication with them through local NFU.
“It’s important to report all rural crime, as although we know little can be done for instances like this, it adds to crime figures, and allows trends to be analysed and resources allocated.”
Read more harvest news.
