The Christmas and New Year period is that in between time that can either be wasted or used sensibly in deciding what needs doing when weather and ground conditions improve. It’s hard to believe, all going well, that we will be able to spread slurry within a fortnight. We have put into the slurry tanks a biological mix of bacteria and, I see from the label, seaweed and molasses to breakdown the ammonia in the slurry to a less harmful nitrate form.

I have used the product before and it certainly reduces the pungent smell when the slurry is spread, but I would like a fuller explanation of the science behind the product and its effects, as well as more detailed measurement of its effect on earthworms and its actual ammonia emissions.

At this stage, we still have plenty of room in the slatted tanks for slurry

If the comparatively inexpensive product does reduce ammonia from cattle slurry, then its advantages from a greenhouse gas emissions point of view would be very significant.

At this stage, we still have plenty of room in the slatted tanks for slurry, due to us buying in so few cattle in the autumn. It was just as well we waited – while worries about Brexit were my main reason, the latest communication from the Department spelled out in graphic detail the effect that the over two-year-old cattle have on my stocking rate figures. While we have some scope at the moment, the fact that quite a few of the dairy beef bullocks reach the two year threshold in the February/March period make the BEAM threshold of a 5% reduction dependent on selling fit over two year old cattle and replacing them, ideally with yearlings, which would give us some scope to get numbers up to normal.

The recent spell of cold, wet weather has made it very clear where we have drainage and/or soil compaction problems

In their letter, the Department has helpfully reminded me that their technology enables them to calculate my stocking rate on a daily basis, so the scope for fudging is very limited!

The recent spell of cold, wet weather has made it very clear where we have drainage and/or soil compaction problems. Where the crops were sown in good conditions, there is no problem, with good, even emergence and almost no lying water.

The cereals sown at the end of September and very early October are all fine, but the oilseed rape was sown after a messy late August/early September and the compaction. especially on the headlands. is very obvious. Having gone in about 10 days later than ideal, they needed every bit of help they could get.

I’m always slightly worried that spring oats varieties sown in the autumn will be vulnerable to very hard frosts

The rest of the fields are fine, but the backward plants on the headlands have predictably proven more vulnerable to the pigeons, which has been a feature of this cold spell.

This year, we have a new variety of oats. I’m always slightly worried that spring oats varieties sown in the autumn will be vulnerable to very hard frosts. So far, the frosts have been in the -2/-3°C range, but I have no information on how the oats would perform if the temperatures were to drop to -8/-10°C, as they did a few years ago – winter 2013 if I remember correctly. That winter, the entire countryside turned brown and oats crops suffered severe heaving and quite a bit of winter kill. I hope the same doesn’t arise this year. We can only wait and see.