In your field

So after the longest of waits harvest 2021 is nearly complete here in the soggy North West and with it came its many stresses. However, I find none as stressful as trying to move the combine down the road.

It is that time of year again when the weather person on TV talks about increasingly autumnal conditions and you know summer is nearly over. That said, it has been a lovely spell, allowing us to get second cut silage and arable silage cut and baled with little stress.

There is a distinctly autumnal feel in the air now. August has come and gone in a flash, and with September now upon us, the nights are well and truly drawing in.

Summer harvest 2021 has been busier than ever. Labour shortages combined with few ‘good combining days’ have certainly seen the grey hair count increase rapidly.

Spring barley harvest started for us last week and has so far been very stop start, with the opportunity to cut reasonably dry malting barley limited to three sunny afternoons.

We finally felt like we had turned a corner with our farming enterprise. We were above target for the year in terms of silage, cattle growth and our bank balance.

In what has been an all or nothing sort of year when it comes to grass growing weather, August is defying expectations and turning out to be bang on, with plenty of rain and warmth to boot.

As the year continues on apace, we entered the whirl of second cut. I’m sure I’m not the only wife/mother who goes through these times in an anxious state.

Mid-August and the often-talked-about ’mid-summer dip’ arrived.

Son Sam arrived home after shearing 10,000 sheep in the Scottish Highlands, and it is great to have him back.