Harvest 2025 started approximately two weeks earlier than we would normally have started, but is now full steam ahead. Combine wheels are turning, baling, carting and stacking are now resembling the norm and the dreaded packed lunch-making is under way.
Flaming June was a blessing in disguise, although many people were praying for rain. I think we would take a dry year any time rather than the sodden mess that we appeared to have a couple of years ago.
June’s hot and sunny weather produced a bumper strawberry crop and accelerated the corn. While the quality/quantity of straw is variable the corn volume appears to be good.
With the price of fertiliser on the increase, many dairy/arable farm collaborations are emerging. Many straw-for-muck deals are being completed around the country. Farmers working together for a mutual benefit is something that should become common place in society.
The price of milk has remained stable for a few months, although farmers continue to exit the farming industry at an alarming rate. Between April 2024 and April 2025, 540 dairy farmers in the UK sold all their cows. This now leaves fewer than 10,000 dairy farmers in the UK.
The water companies have started putting hose pipe bans in place. Maybe if they concentrated on fixing the leakages in the system and restoring the water storage systems in place, this could be avoided. Reservoir levels are allegedly at the lowest in a decade.
I am sure the amount of ragwort that is growing in fields, hedgerows, roadsides and environmental schemes won’t have escaped people’s notice. Ragwort is a notifiable plant that should be reported. A great friend told me the other day that she tried to report a field adjacent to her and was advised to report it on the DEFRA website. This directed her to Natural England and upon filling out a form she learned that they have been inundated with reports and are no longer accepting any more. In my younger days many hours were spent pulling ragwort – and they still are. Maybe it’s time for community service offenders to learn a new skill.
We finally managed a few days away at the beginning of July before the swing of harvest commenced. A lovely time in the South of France at my sister’s house, canoeing, swimming and the like. The boys stayed at home to hold the fort as it was the first time away since pre-Covid. Now back to the grindstone.
Until next time, stay safe.
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