Thank you to all who sent messages and comments on my last article – it’s both scary and slightly comforting just how many people are in a similar position.

Farming has a long way to go if the next generation are to be well placed to take on the task ahead.

See more: Farmer Focus: No legal documents leads to succession stress

About the author

Richard Orr

Richard Orr farms cereals and potatoes in a reduced cultivation system in County Down, Northern Ireland, with his wife and two children. He is a cereals and oilseeds sector council member and focuses on soil and plant health. He also keeps a small number of cattle, pigs and sheep.

Read more articles by Richard Orr

Not a lot has changed in my situation. It’s clear a lot of people in these legal professions forget it is people’s lives they’re playing with. It’s just a money-making exercise for them.

I continue to spend most of my time in the office sorting legal paperwork and catching up on farm paperwork with an inspection coming up, and our year-end accounts to complete.

It doesn’t feel as bad when it’s constantly raining outside.

Another round of the farm modernisation programme closed this week for applications. It allows us to spend up to £30,000 on items listed and banded by Daera, with a percentage of funding available.

Unfortunately, given my current situation, it would not be sensible to apply. It annoys me how everything is biased towards reducing emissions within the livestock sector.

It seems the people at the top compiling the list don’t understand the importance of the items and have a “we need to reduce ammonia so to pot with everyone else” attitude.

This needs addressing, but not to the detriment of other sectors where items are generally banded lower importance.

Everything slurry-related is in band 1. It was great to finally see the mechanical toppers added to help the potato sector, but yet these are only in band 2.

Praise to the Ulster Farmers’ Union and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise for getting these items added.

We got a few dry days in the middle of October to allow wheat drilling to progress and I got all the ex-potato fields sowed in good conditions.