The wet start to 2024 has been as challenging in Britain as it has in Ireland, adding to the pressures for farmers and contractors across England, Wales and Scotland of higher machinery costs and a fallback in commodity prices. Even in the usually drier south, there has been little let-up in the rain. Having been cutting silage for over 25 years, though – and contracting for much longer – such challenges are nothing new for the Osborne family, based at Ashington, West Sussex, just 10 miles from England’s south coast and 25 miles south of Gatwick airport.