It's nearly a wrap for harvest in Canterbury for what has shaped up to be a good season.

"With going so hot and dry, this harvest has been a bit of a breeze," says North Canterbury's Waitohi Ag manager Ben Clarke.

Clarke said contractors have been waiting for crops to be ready rather than being under pressure from farmers waiting to harvest.

"We are actually chasing crops, so it's quite nice for the boot to be on the other foot."

Yields have been varied, with winter crops underperforming.

"With being such a wet spring, winter crops just got drowned.

"But the spring crops have been going really well."

Clarke said yields have been around 8-9 tonnes per hectare, which is a pleasing result for dry land spring crops.

Waitohi Ag contracts over most of the Hurunui, as well as strip-tilling as far as Kaikoura.

"The strip-till has its place; interest in it has really grown."

Mayfield contractor and arable farmer James Doyle says grain and milling wheat yields are similar to last year in Mid Canterbury, while peas, grass seed and brassicas have performed better.

"We've had a lot better weather this harvest, but we still have about half of our spring cereal to go.

"We are a bit back on feed wheat and barley; quite a few of our clients have replaced that with peas or milling wheat."

Doyle sights reduced market demand and lower prices for feed grain for the increase in milling wheat crops.

"Milling wheat is well over a hundred bucks more than feed wheat barley, so people are putting in milling wheat instead."

By Claire Inkson