I wondered if I’d jumped the gun by drilling spring barley so early in February.

My mind was put at ease with 105mm of rain falling consistently from our Norfolk skies throughout March, limiting further land work.

I recall my neighbour telling me when I first returned to the farm, “always seize a weather opportunity”.

His words have been ringing in my ears for the past month, and especially over the Easter weekend when we had two rare days of dry weather.

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About the author

Robert Scott

Robert Scott farms 1,800ha of arable in mid-west Norfolk for seven different landowners. He grows combinable crops and sugar beet together with cover crops, grass leys and extensive countryside stewardship schemes. He also finishes 2,000 lambs a year. robert@thscottandson.co.uk Instagram: @thscottandson

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We did manage to get 60ha of vining peas in the ground, pre-emergence, potash and sulphur applied.

These were planted following relatively stalky cover crops, which were dealt with by a 10cm surface cultivation by our new Amazone Cobra.

This is a trailed cultivator which has a knife cutter followed by 45 sprung tines, spaced to allow trash flow. We still have a further 40ha of legumes to get in on some poorly drained land.

In the last few hours, we have had a further 17mm of rain and the wind is blowing a gale yet again. More rain is forecast.

Sugar beet drilling now occupies my mind, with the gap between planting and aphid flight dates shortening. Not ideal without Cruiser dressed seed.

We have drilled one 18ha field of sugar beet of a planned 200ha.

I haven’t looked at this lonesome field since it was drilled on Easter Sunday, but no doubt with so much rain the sand will have run and it will have gone down tight and capped.

I’m conscious I sound like yet another stressed farmer.

This is understandable, with difficult weather patterns adding to the increased pressure of inflation, falling commodity markets and a government out of touch.

During these periodic episodes of doom and gloom my wife calls me “Chicken Licken”, a reference to the chicken who thinks the sky is falling in when an acorn falls on his head.

To all those finding themselves in a similar situation this April, better days are ahead, the sun will come out to play and, for me, at least my solitary capped field of beet won’t blow away.