The chairman of a west Norfolk farming club has won its annual trophy for the best sample of wheat.

Martyn Cockerill, chairman of Stoke Ferry Agricultural Society, collected the trophy on behalf of his employer Oxborough Farms, where the winning crop was grown.

The sample of wheat variety Nelson had a specific weight of 83.2kg/hl - a key criteria for grain quality within the milling industry.

"My employer is over the moon that we, a light land farm, should win an award against some very good silt land farmers," said Mr Cockerill. 

Fellow club members Robert Smart and Jim Smart shared joint second place, with two 82.4kg/hl samples of Extase and Zyatt respectively, while Paul Wortley came third with a sample of Extase measured at 80.0kg/hl.

Following the wheat competition, club members heard a talk about wheat diseases by Dr Aoife O' Driscoll, a crop protection specialist at NIAB (National Institute of Agricultural Botany).

She discussed methods of controlling wheat infections including eyespot, sharp eyespot, fusarium and ergot, which appears to be becoming more problematic on farms.