Silage uncut, slurry unspread, final crop sprays to go on and grass seed unsown.

The list of jobs that has to be done is mounting – most need reasonable weather or at least a number of hours of predictable, dry weather for spraying while I really want to get as near as possible to a 24-hour wilt for the silage.

There is very little we can do about it except to keep busy at other things during a very frustrating time. As usual, at this time of the year, one of the main jobs is to make sure that the seed grain crops are as clean as possible. Toleration of wild oats is zero; happily I have never seen the wild oats as scarce in the crops.

Over the last few years, there is also a growing insistence that the incidence of brome be reduced as much as possible. We have strimmed all the boundaries of the seed crops – wheat and barley, and we will use this time of semi-enforced idleness in other areas to hand-rogue the remaining brome. All of this is adding to the costs of high-quality seed production but discussions on that are for another day.

Despite the heavy rain and wind, the most vulnerable of the crops – winter barley– is standing well if threatening to wobble. Oats is in the same state. Both crops are testament to the power of the growth regulators that largely strengthen the straw and prevent lodging so thank goodness for modern chemistry. This weather is of course ideal for the beans but how much it is encouraging disease, especially chocolate spot, I am not sure.