It’s been a matter of deciding what is urgent and important as distinct from simply must be done at some stage.

Over the few dry days at the end of last week, we prioritised the ploughing, tilling, sowing and rolling of the oilseed rape.

On Sunday evening, we had everything finished just ahead of the rain. It’s four to five days later than the ideal so I hope the bag of 18.6.12 as well as the slurry we ploughed in will give it a good start.

The oilseed rape is an important crop for us – it’s the only break crop that I am comfortable to follow with oats for human consumption.

We have still not decided on our full rotation for autumn planting

My other break crop is beans and I always regard seed wheat as the logical follow on – mainly because wheat properly treated seems to stand better and the best wheat yields I have ever achieved have been after beans.

We have still not decided on our full rotation for autumn planting as I am not yet sure if I can plant a second seed wheat of the same variety in the same field.

Experience has shown that at least on our land that a second wheat after oilseed rape is very badly affected with take-all. I still have to bale this year’s oaten straw.

With reduced cattle numbers, the excellent growing conditions have meant that the grass has got out of control

Last June, when we ran out of straw to incorporate in the feeder, we filled in with oilseed rape straw. This year, we chopped the oilseed rape straw so I need the oaten.

Meanwhile, on the grass/cattle side, we have still not taken our second-cut silage. I assume we will get it this week given the forecast.

With reduced cattle numbers, the excellent growing conditions have meant that the grass has got out of control so we are zero grazing some paddocks and bringing it into the bulls.

I hope that the protests outside the meat plants, if they must continue, take a different form

We are giving grass to all the bulls – some that are in the final stages of finishing and some that won’t be fully fit till, I reckon, after Christmas.

As the autumn advances, I hope that the protests outside the meat plants, if they must continue, take a different form as it’s important to keep fit cattle moving off farms and not precipitate a backlog of cattle clogging up the system. At this stage, there is a high degree of public and political acceptance of how and why beef prices and profits have plunged.

Read more

Poor weather delays harvest completion

As it happened: the beef talks