With rain falling almost every day during one of the wettest Augusts on record, wheat farmers have had precious little time to get out into the fields and bring in the harvest.

Although the quality of the crops remains high, time is running out before it starts to diminish.

And unless there are a few dry days in a row before the end of the month, farmers face the prospect of watching the market value of their wheat plummet.

Peterborough group secretary of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Stuart Bish said: "The weather has been thoroughly frustrating.

"The crops we have at the moment have lots of potential, but that will soon begin to slip away pretty quickly. When we have had a break in the rain, the second the wheat becomes dry enough to harvest, we get more showers, and it's back to square one.

"The wheat has been ready for two weeks now, and it needs harvesting pretty quickly.

"But we are probably only 10 per cent into the harvest round here, when, under normal circumstances, we would be well on the way to completion."

Not only are farmers unable to harvest in the rain, but they need two or three days' sunshine for their crops to dry out enough to be collected.

Unless that happens, the quality of the wheat will reduce so much that it can only be used for animal feed, knocking down its market value by up to a quarter.

If the persistent wet weather continues, farmers will be forced to harvest damp wheat, which must then be dried artificially by machines, using thousands of pounds worth of fuel.

Greg Bliss, who has 820 acres of wheat between Stilton and Holme, said farmers like himself were having a "miserable" time.

He said: "We have only had two days combining this season, and have had to grab whatever we can between the showers.

"Everything is holding at the moment, but another week of wet weather and there is a fair chance we will be forced to settle for the lower prices."

another wheat farmer, Richard Angood, says he has only managed to harvest 15 per cent of the 200 acres he farms near Chatteris.

"Everybody is extremely concerned about the loss of quality," he said.

"Up until now, it hasn't dropped off too badly, but I suspect if things haven't improved by the weekend, it will not be looking so good."