In the last few days, we have had more rain than in the eight weeks since we finished sowing. During the long, mild, dry autumn, punctuated by some sharp frosts – which hopefully dealt with aphids and checked fungal infections – we saw remarkable grass and even clover growth.

It’s hard to believe that slurry spreading will, weather permitting, begin in a few days’ time. We have again added an additive to the slurry beneath the slats, with the aim of having the slurry easier to agitate, which we are quite sure is the case. It also definitely reduces the smell when spreading it. What I am not so sure about is the claim of additional benefits to soil health. The claim is based on the assumption that undesirable ammonia in the slurry is converted to more beneficial nitrate, but it seems to be difficult to get conclusive evidence to back up the claim. We will try and monitor how the late-grazed paddocks recover and become fit for grazing, compared with the ones we left. With all the cattle in, we are getting through our silage, but if the year is anyway normal, we should be okay. It seems a pity that we are using soya as our protein source instead of the bi-products from the native brewing and distilling industries, but the relative prices made the switch inevitable. Out in the fields, the heavy rain has given the first opportunity to see if our expensive drainage work carried out during the summer was having any effect. We had taken two different approaches. In one badly affected area, we put in a conventional layout with perforated pipes sunk well below plough depth and lots of gravel. In the other vulnerable area with very little fall, we put in an intensive system of gravel-filled mole drains.