Life as a farmer is always changing, like the seasons of the year. We never know what there is in store for us, but we always face it head on, as if going into battle.

The last couple of years have been some of the most challenging that I have witnessed within my farming career. With the weather and markets giving rise to rough times, and the government continuing to meddle in farm matters, I feel that we are in the eye of the perfect storm.

However, we have had similar pressures in the past, where governments felt they could import food cheaper and that they didn’t need farmers. How far removed from reality they were back then and how stupid they are now not to have learned from past mistakes.

See also: First case of glyphosate resistance confirmed on UK farm

A quote often attributed to Einstein tells us it is insanity to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

We are the primary industry of all other industries. Without food, nothing works, but with healthy, nutrient-rich food, everything thrives. When will they wake up and smell the coffee?

Taking land out of production for solar panels seems to me to be lunacy, when we should be first covering all available roof space with panels and making full use of every square inch of land that is already out of food production.

Importing food has a high carbon footprint, so are they really making a difference? Or are they just patting themselves on the back for generating “green energy” while missing the bigger picture?

We are a resourceful bunch, and I am sure, as our forefathers did, we will get through this period. But it all seems so unnecessary to me when farmers can make such a difference to the planet and its inhabitants. Why kick us when we should be being applauded?

Crops here have coped really well with what the winter has thrown at them, and some field work has been achieved in the way of getting Kerb (propyzamide) out onto the oilseed rape. Let’s hope we are in for a kind spring – to remind us what farming is all about – and that the government starts to value us.