Comment – the weather…

I know, I know, it’s not exactly a new subject is it? But we do have a reasonably healthy obsession with the weather.

Farmers, and hence by definition, the agricultural machinery supply chain are trapped between the soil and the sky. And don’t we know it? Those who spend rather too long on social media will be more than well aware that Autumn ’24 was dreadful through September and October, and many armchair/keyboard/tractor cab commentators pulled up the stumps in October, only to find that it dried up again and everyone now seems to be drilled up in good order (ish).

My only contribution to the debate is to check the wheelbarrow and offer these figures for October ’24, namely 194mm of rain versus 157mm last year, a substantial  248mm in  ’22, a whopping 291mm  in ’21, and 226mm in ’20 (when records began). So slightly below the 5 year  average. By way of comparison in the first 16 days of November a mere 21mm has fallen.

Oh and the temperature is dropping, and there is snow in the forecast… whatever next?

I note some prevalence of a meme (ask your kids what a meme is, if you don’t know) doing the rounds on social media suggesting that when it snows, farmers should call the council and not bother clearing the roads. Whilst I have a degree of sympathy with the idea, the reality is that the farmers say more about themselves by turning out in all weathers and continuing to support the communities within which we live.

However this week turns out (and my money is on a slight dusting of snow..) have a good one.

Andy