Comment – Rain, rain, go away… and don’t believe the hype.

You guessed it, sooner or later, I had to mention the weather.

No surprises, but what is interesting is that yours truly seems to have got carried away by the surrounding narrative amidst farmers, the trade and the perfidious agricultural media into believing that we have had truly apocalyptic rainfall, recently.

I intrepidly strode across the yard and checked the rain gauge. The wheelbarrow read a mere 165mm for March 24. For comparison 21′ had 258mm, 22′ was down at 77mm and last year’s total was 200mm. In fact 2024 was the 2nd driest March for the last four years (since records began).

The ongoing spate of insolvencies with dealers and manufacturers isn’t over yet, and whilst the interest rate cuts are being trailed for June/July, it wasn’t that long ago that the interest rates were being cut in March/April. Don’t hold your breath.

Where am I going? Well, despite the rain, interest rates and that old adage that you can’t sell a new tractor on a wet day, plantings are down, crops are average at best and it will dry up. We all plant in faith of a harvest and it will get better.

I’ve said it before, but the supply chain has done a belting job of selling capacity in the last few years, just wait till it dries and up and spring work will be wrapped up before you know it!

Plus that first instalment of their SFI payment drops into the bank in May…

Have a good week.

Andy

PS just 12 ewes left to lamb, back to the day job now, and my hands are no longer purple coloured. Spring drilling next.. if it ever dries up!