While the weather has been quite kind over the winter and early spring, a week of low temperatures and wintry conditions has checked progress on farms.

No one is more vulnerable to a sudden change in conditions than those on high ground. The Duffus' at Tomintoul saw over eight inches of snow fall in a 24-hour period. With lambing at its peak this week on the farm, it led to heavy losses over Wednesday night and Thursday morning. A harsh reminder of how dependant we farmers are on nature.

Elsewhere on lower ground, while the weather was not as severe, there were some reports of mastitis in ewes but instances were minimal. In many cases, the sleet and rain was the first wetting spring-born lambs have had, with moisture needed to boost grass growth and spring-sown crops. Albeit not in the form we would have wished.

Andrew Gammie in Laurencekirk rehoused cows and calves early in the week as a preventative measure against the bad weather. However, by Thursday they were back at pasture.

In Caithness, Mark and Shona Mackay didn’t have any snow settle due to their proximity to the sea. However, further inland this was not the case. Wintry conditions coming directly out of the north have hampered any field work and grass growth has slowed significantly.

The forecast for the coming week is for milder, more settled weather and hopefully we’ve seen the last of the snow for this spring.