Farmer Focus: Why I’m now eating porridge each morning
© Jason Bye I’ve only gone and done some bloody farming. Literally today.
Who knows what I’ll be doing when you are reading this, but at present we are worrying some soil in preparation for sowing beans and wheat tomorrow.
If I had a penny for every time I stood in a field this year and thought, if it doesn’t rain tonight we’ll pull some land down tomorrow, I’d be as rich as a Welsh farmer with a BPS cheque and a decent lamb price.
See also: Why grain maize could be a profitable spring cropping option
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You’ve got to laugh, haven’t you?
As my young adults say, I’m not going to lie, this wet winter and soggy spring has given me a few sleepless nights and it’s certainly not over yet.
At the last count we have 18 days drilling to go which is going to take us into mid-April at best.
The only upside is that due to organic barley being impossible to sell the past two years, the lovely people at our marketing agent – Organic Arable and Whites Oats, have said they will take an increased spring oat acreage from us this season.
This can be safely sown up until the middle of April and a little bit beyond which has come as a welcome relief and taken the pressure off somewhat.
To thank them and help with the effort, I am eating a bowl of porridge every morning which I am sure has lifted the market.
There’s also some good news. Our new blended Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes have started.
We even had a Shimpling Park Farm team meeting recently to discuss how we are going to get all our chosen options established and for them to, “achieve the actions aim” as our Defra friends require, for food, soils and nature. It’s all going to be magnificent.
I’ve heard on the grapevine that some landowners are putting the whole farm down to a single option. Honestly, play the game folks, but don’t muck it up for all of us.
