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We may not have had the disastrous floods that have hit some parts of England, but nevertheless, it has been incredibly wet. Some neighbours had to bring their cattle in several weeks ago as the grass fields turned into a bovine Glastonbury and buying feeding in mid summer has been an added, unexpected and large cost that will make already tight profit margins even tighter.

Our livestock has managed to stay outside - not that the stock is enjoying the weather, even on the driest days every hoof print is full of water. As rain has washed much of the nutrients out of the grass, mineral supplements have been eaten in vast quantities.

The weather pattern of torrential rain, drizzle and downpours is followed by few dry days when everyone is out trying to get the necessary work done. Making silage in the wet conditions is a costly and slow process.

Instead of loading full trailers on the field, the lucky ones cart away six or seven bales at a time and the unlucky ones bring them out two at a time with a forklift. Baler men and wrappers are desperate to move on, the next customer crying in the phone for more help to arrive before the rain.

Everybody is working and I mean everybody; from the just turned 16-year-olds with a fresh forklift licence in their hands to the oldest pensioners who can still manage to drive a tractor. In the last dry 48-hour period farmers in this valley alone managed 38 working hours each.

Our silage is in. After waiting weeks for a dry spell to make hay I, like everyone else around us, gave up and decided to try for reasonable silage. More by luck than good planning, I managed to cut my grass at the beginning of a 48-hour dry spell, at times even a sunny  period.

The fields were wet, moving bales seven at a time left ruts on the surface and I was not brave enough even to try with eight. Despite the clouds gathering dark and threatening, they held on to the water until the very last bale was wrapped up. As the last bale was hoisted on the pile the heavens opened once again.

Despite it all, I am a happy man with high quality silage. Topping grass is the next priority but somehow I cannot see it happening. Jokingly I bought flotation tyres for the combine to "guarantee a dry harvest", but it looks like they are going to be desperately needed. At times like this it is good to know that I have the heaviest duty tow chain available tucked away in the workshop!

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