Comment – Snow, what else?
In a break from the norm, yours truly is sat on Sunday morning at the desk penning this week’s missive.
Despite amber warnings, and maybe 3 inches of snow this morning, parish life continues apace. The farm manager and I have been clearing the yard with brushes and shovels to avoid the usual hard packed ice problems and all sheep are present, fed and accounted for.
The neighbours on the other hand.. Obviously a series of requests for field access for sledging have been granted. Next up the thorny issue of ‘do you think we should go out? Facebook says the roads are passable with care’. It’s snowing as we speak, the temperature is just above freezing and dropping, and we are forecast another 6-12 inches by tomorrow morning. Despite the pressing need for extra virgin olive oil and cooking butter, I for one will be staying put.
The bucket can go on the loader tractor when the time comes, but there’s no point whilst it’s still snowing and the east wind is scouring the fields and filling up the sunken lanes with drifts. I may get another basket of logs in whilst it’s light though.
As its now officially 2025, several industry insiders gave their predictions for the year, suitably anonymised as follows:
A flat possibly declining market for new equipment will likely continue into 2026, with a consequent slight uplift in secondhand sales as users forced into the market.
The shift in Syria will draw in grain from other places than Russia, their usual supplier.. this will have a knock on to western markets. Likewise the closing of the pipeline across Ukraine for Russian gas will stretch other suppliers to fill the gap.
The Bank of England are trailing interest rate cuts for ’25, in a similar vein to this time last year. Don’t bank on rate cuts, plan for similar and with a modest margin of error upwards particularly.
If it dries up, I’ll get that fencing finished and have a bonfire.
With these cheerful thoughts, I wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to catching up with you soon, if the lanes clear!
Andy
