There is always a time to sow and a time to harvest – and that harvest may consist of cutterbars wrapping, grain dryers steaming, and a seemingly endless stream of breakdowns.

Nevertheless, harvest was completed here at Broynach on October 3, and on reflection I think it went OK.

Combining was very much a smash-and-grab affair right from the get-go with localised showers and continuous dampness coupled with little to no drying wind. This meant slow progress and higher-than-average grain moistures had to be accepted into the dryer shed.

On the plus side, ground conditions remained relatively firm, and crops of both barley and oats ripened in a timely and even fashion which was surprising considering the relatively late sowing dates due to the delayed spring.

Yields were a tale of two halves with both individual fields and varieties varying considerably.

On the barley front, the season kicked off with Sassy on September 2, yielding 6t/ha which was a disappointing result for here. In contrast, the slightly later ripening Firefoxx, which received the same inputs and is grown on similar land, managed to achieve a more respectable average of 7.2t/ha.

Quality wise we have produced some of the best malting barley we’ve had to date with no deductions for screenings and very low nitrogens, which seems to be the national trend.

During a wet day mid-harvest, some of the crew began to quiz dad on what combines he has driven over the years. As he was listing his way through the models, it suddenly dawned on us that 2024 marked his 50th year of combine driving. Starting off his career on a Ransomes with a 10ft header, he has now progressed to Claas Lexion 570TT and countless combines in between.

Although there has been much progression in the combine world with the addition of cabs, technology and, of course, the sheer size and scale of the machines, the basics still remain the same. A reel at the front, riddles at the back and the spout still comes out the left-hand side. The main leap forward for us in recent years has been tracks replacing wheels, rotors instead of walkers, and a laser pilot taking care of the steering.

Dad certainly had to put all his half-a-century worth of combining experience into action this year to navigate through some challenging oats with around 25% of the area being classed as severely flat. More growth regulator than normal was applied to the crop due to early signs that it could grow out of control. However, decent spraying days during the summer months were few and far between, and due to this I think some of the PGRs missed critical timings.

The farms two Bale Safe trailers are now busy carting straw to livestock farmers around Caithness and North Sutherland.

The farms two Bale Safe trailers are now busy carting straw to livestock farmers around Caithness and North Sutherland.

We brought a contractor in to cut alongside us to finish up the oats and luckily a good week of weather in late September ensured it all arrived safely in the shed. We won’t know how the oats have yielded until it moves off farm later in the year but going by how full the stores are, I would say it was a good crop.

Thoughts have now turned to cattle housing. With the weather turning rougher and the grass starting to disappear, cattle are now better off inside here and the calves will have the added benefit of being introduced to some creep feed.

As straw gets cleared off the fields and cattle get settled inside, we will look forward to getting into the quieter, less hectic, winter months.

The end of September also marked Anna’s first birthday. I think it’s been the first time I have been glad of a wet day mid harvest – allowing us all to down tools for a celebration.

The past year has certainly gone round fast!