THE SCOTTISH harvest is proving a mixed bag, with some areas recording their earliest season, while others hit by the tail end of Hurricane Bertha are being held back by ground conditions.

Farmers in the north of the country have been hardest hit, while in contrast those in the Borders have had things a lot easier. But for everyone, the big worry is that prices are heading downwards rather than up.

Farmer Andrew Moir, of Thornton Mains, Laurencekirk, said: "With the wet weather in the North east in recent weeks, many people are playing catch up.

"On my own farm we have finished the wheat, oilseed rape is in the ground and spring barley is getting swept up - all with reasonable yields and reasonable quality. North of Aberdeen and in Morayshire, however, the ground conditions are still holding progress back," said Mr Moir, chairman of the Nationa Farmers Union Scotland crops committee.

"Some of these areas received 220ml of rain between January and July and then received more than 200ml in the first few weeks of August. As a result there have been reports of combines getting stuck.

"The amount of water in some fields will lead to worries about germination. In the Highlands, progress through spring barley is nearing 50 per cent while intake at Buckie maltings is just getting started."

Reporting from Ellon, Neil McCrae of Mains of Dundwick said: "After nearly two weeks of horrendous weather - rain virtually every day - we finally got up to speed. With oilseed rape there have been some disasters, with the crop succumbing to both wind and rain, making life very difficult for those affected. On spring barley, it looks very promising yield wise," said Mr McCrae. "Wheat is almost ready to cut. "

In the Borders, Rob Livesey, of Firth farm, Melrose, painted a different picture having already finished his harvest - the earliest ever: "The wheat is yet to be fully assessed but looks a big pile. Straw is plentiful - the best in terms of quantity and quality for many years. He said: "The price we expect for our product is not encouraging. A lot will go into storage hoping for a price uplift."

In East Lothian, progress was said to be good, with pleasing yields of crops and straw and oilseed rape sowing in full swing. Willie Thomson,of Whatrig, Longniddry said: "Winter barley for feed has yielded 3.6 tonnes to the acre. A lot of wheat is now being cut with reports of good yields. The downsides are the price, with top quality malting barley likely to make only £120 to £130 per tonne."

For more in-depth news and views on Scottish Agriculture see this Friday's issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk.