Vast quantities of rain have replaced recent frosts. The farm looked a picture with hoarfrost hanging in the trees, and I wish it could have lasted a little while longer. Was all this a sign of things to come with global warming, or are we just getting the weather of many years ago?

Compost carting was finally finished during that cold spell as we could get onto the fields. Spreading will be at 15t/ha and hopefully provide useful organic matter as well as the benefits of P and K and slow release N to the soil. On paper it looks a winner, but the haulage and spreading costs might forgo any savings.

Our spring barley seed has arrived, so when the weather permits, the cultivators will come out of hibernation and start turning the fields brown. I would have liked to have carried out some winter cultivations but the weather didn’t really allows us to do so, and with much of our land in various winter stubble schemes the options were limited.

One field in particular has been full of farmland birds all winter thanks to an unharvested strip around the headland.

It has been a pleasure watching the activity there. During the cold spell we had a flock of lapwings on the farm, and I only hope some of them stay and nest in the plots set aside for them. Sadly this will only be achieved if a certain black and white furry four-legged animal doesn’t destroy the nests and eat the young.

I certainly didn’t dream about the sacking of the England cricket captain and coach. What a good start to the year!

So with a new captain and a new American President in place I’m looking for the all important third thing to happen. “Gordon – you’re fired.”

• More columns from Edward Tupper
• More information from other Farmer Focus writers