Continuous wet weather has made conditions difficult in southwest Scotland, where the spring barley harvest is expected to get under way in the coming weeks.

Stranraer agricultural contractor Brian Paxton said: “It’s just a disaster, there’s been no let up for the last six to seven weeks.”

He has resorted to using two tractors to pull 14t to 16t trailers of wholecrop out of fields.

“It’s as bad as 1985 only we’re better equipped; the wheeled combines are really struggling,” he told Farmers Journal Scotland while crimping barley. “The winter wheat and barley yields were good but it’s hard to judge spring barley as it’s deteriorating in the fields every day.”

Behind

He said they are slightly behind on work this year due to weather; the second cut of silage is almost done but has been restricted to just two or three days a week over the last month.

“We’ve had a lot of heavy rain and thunderstorms,” said Ayrshire farmer John Andrew. “There’s water lying on fields and it’s gotten to the stage where cattle are starting to damage the ground. I’ve heard of people in the area bringing cattle in.”

However, he added that grass growth is picking up again. The UK Met Office sent out yellow rainfall warnings for Tayside, Central, Fife, southwest Scotland, Lothian Borders, Highlands and the Western Isles.

The Western Isles caught the brunt of the weather front that moved in from northern Ireland, where there were reports of flash floods.

Over the 24-hour period from 4pm on Tuesday 22 August over 76mm of rain fell in south Uist. Meanwhile Tiree recorded 60.4mm of rain over the same period. As it moved east, the pulse weakened. Bishopton, Prestwick and Dundrennan received 23.2mm, 14mm and 6.8mm, respectively, while Aberdeen airport recorded 8mm of rainfall.

The forecast over the coming days shows that northern parts of the country will receive more rain on Saturday and Sunday while it should clear somewhat in the south.

Milk production penalties

The deluge of rain has also affected milk production in the southwest, causing penalties from processors. NFU Scotland has called on Müller to treat the drop in milk production as exceptional circumstances.

“We are calling on Müller and others to view this year’s dreadful summer as beyond the scope of normal forecasting and to look again at penalties to relieve some of the pressure on farmers who are already struggling,” NFUS dairy policy manager George Jamieson said.

A Müller spokesman said: “We are asking farmers in Scotland who may be affected to contact us directly. Our intention is to take a pragmatic, common-sense approach to this issue.”