Simon Day of AH Worth pens a column on the conditions facing farmers

Farmer Simon Day offers an insight into how the AH Worth team is coping with current conditions...

Is summer finally here? It seems to have been quite a challenging spring. The last couple of springs have been relatively easy, the temperatures warmed up in mid-March, the soil dried and we were able to start planting the spring crops.

So we were bound to have a more challenging one, sooner or later.

After a very dry January and February, when we would normally expect quite a bit of rain to help with filling reservoirs, we moved into March when we saw 200% more rain than our long term average with the same seen in April.

The soils were wet and the temperatures were low as well.

This meant a delay in getting some of the spring crops in the ground, which depended on the rest of the growing season and may have an impact on how they yield.

The team at AH Worth rose to the challenge and worked in a double shift pattern enabling us to make the most of the drier days and run the planter for a longer period of time.

The potatoes are now well emerged and the weekly cycle of spraying to protect from blight is underway and finally the weather has warmed up, so we are busy irrigating to keep the soil moist to help with the skin finish on the crops.

How things have changed in a month!

We are also busy emptying the grain stores and getting them cleaned out in readiness for the harvest to begin in August.

The team will be out digging samples in the potato fields to keep an eye on the size and quality so we can ensure we have the best crops come harvest.

To find out more about what is happening on the farm follow us @ah_worth or @sje_day