Rodney Down: It seems Canada has all the water we crave this summer

So, sporting the worst sunburn Dorset has to offer, I set off across the pond. What I saw was totally unexpected, I saw more acres than I could shake a stick at, the trouble is most were waterlogged and crops looked under severe stress. Latest Canadian reports suggest a massive 4.9m hectares (12 million acres) are left unseeded due to wet weather and soil conditions.

What Canola (the main crop and nearly all GM) was established was varied in its maturity and bolting very early.

What was impressive was the milk price of just under 50p per litre but the quota cost per cow brought me back down to earth

Rodney Down

The friends I visited, however, had everything drilled one way or another and if a low yield is harvested, their insurance should see that they are not left out of pocket by too much. Costs do seem to be well under control with direct drilling and GPS technology widely adopted.

What implications this will have on us in the UK is unclear and I feel our markets are yet to respond. What was impressive was the milk price of just under 50p per litre, but the quota cost of CN$31,000 (£19,250) per cow soon brought me back down to earth.

It does seem, however, a decent living can be made off 80-100 cows with most herds very automated and yielding more than 10,000 litres per annum.

On returning to the UK, I was amazed at how the countryside had burnt up. Our grass has just about stopped growing and everything could do with a drink.  Milk yields are back as we up the buffer to compensate for the lack of grass.

By the time you read this, our second cut will be done. We have left it a little longer this year between cuts as we need the bulk. Just as well as we will be eating into that surplus we had from last year very quickly if things continue as they are.

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