Harvest?time at Leckford?

As the Leckford Estate team toil in the fields?harvesting?this year’s crop, the Gazette (the John Lewis Partnership 's internal magazine) chatted with Tom Adami, Arable and Livestock Manager, to find out what it’s like.?

What does a typical day look like when you're?harvesting??

A typical day for me starts by checking the weather apps to see what is coming our way. The team starts at 8am, we have a brief catch-up and tool box talk about the plan for the day and then head off to get the combine and tractors ready. We also have to clear any damp grain through the drier from the day before ready to start cutting at around 9.30am/10am once the dew has dried off. We tend to run two to three tractors and trailers carting the grain depending on the length of the haul. We need to keep the combine cutting at all times to make the most of the weather windows. We also have to clear the straw once it's baled.

We will cut until the dew comes in the evening and the grain/straw moisture goes up. This season has been so damp we haven't been able to cut late into the night. We tend to be packing up around 10pm.

How many Partners are working on the?harvest?

Only a small team. David, Joe, Andrew, Elliott and I are responsible for the bulk of the work although we have a couple of others on the estate we can call on if we are in a bind.

What are you?harvesting?this year??

On the Leckford Estate we grow oil seed rape for Leckford Cold Pressed Rapeseed oOil across 80 hectares, wheat for Leckford flour on 100 hectares, malting barley on 66 hectares and oats on 80 hectares. We also cut similar acreages for a neighbouring farm on a contract farming agreement.

What sort of skills do you need when you're?harvesting??

You need to be a jack of all trades and a master of pretty much all of them too! When operating the combine you are using all your senses. Watching and adjusting what's going in the front constantly, listening and feeling how the innards of the combine are dealing with it and all importantly smelling for even the hint of smoke. (If it happens everything stops until the source can be found). Mechanical aptitude and endurance are very important too.

What challenges can you come across during the?harvest??

Weather, weather and weather. It's not that it just rains and we can go again, we have to wait for the sun and wind to dry it out. Hampshire diamonds (large flints) can cause headaches when they break parts of the combine header, too.

How is?harvesting?different at Leckford to a typical farm??

At Leckford we have blocked cropping for our rotation, however the fields that are blocked together may not be next to each other. We want a mosaic effect of different crops across the estate not huge blocks of one crop, it's great for biodiversity. It does mean moving the combine a lot though.