“All drilled up then?” comes the question with a wry smile at every farming meeting. I haven’t heard anyone answer, “Yes”.

In only my second season of direct drilling I’m not sure of its merits at this time of year, but I can confirm a nice layer of surface straw keeps the moisture in – no doubt useful in a drought. Under the surface the old worm and root holes are doing a good job of drainage apart from a patch of heavy land which is home to some small and waterlogged oilseed rape plants. We haven’t even been able to get an ATV on some of it.

On a brighter note permission has been granted for a field-scale photovoltaic park on our farm. Ironic given the lack of sun. It should give us another source of income not reliant on the weather. It also means fewer acres to worry about planting on land of such quality it suited permanent set-aside. Such a concept seems amazing given the record high wheat futures prices and even November 2014 is trading at £177/t today.

I am looking forward to the inaugural meeting of BASE – Biology Agriculture Soil and Environment. This is a group for those interested in conservation agriculture which uses techniques that include minimal soil disturbance, cover and companion crops and diverse rotations. It will run in parallel with a similar organisation in Brittany which now has more than 1,000 members. They visited us earlier this year and are certainly an innovative bunch.

Andy Barr is a partner in the family business which farms 750 ha, 450 ha of this is cropped or in environmental options. Main crops are wheat, oilseed rape, spring barley and oats. The remaining area is pasture for 1,000 Romney and Dorset lambing ewes plus followers and 35 single suckler Sussex cattle.

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