Despite the beast from the east bringing snow and low temperatures across Scotland, March will not even rank as one of the top 10 coldest Marches since 1910 according to the Met Office.

However, with average temperatures – up until 28 March – well below the average by almost 2ºC it might end up being the third coldest March in 30 years.

The highest temperate in Scotland was 4.9ºC with a minimum of -0.4ºC. The Met Office says the average and minimum temperatures were not unusual but the low maximum temperatures during the first couple of days of March were, with negative figures recorded across the UK.

Speaking about the effects of the weather on his farm in Caithness, Arnott Coghill said: “March is always a tricky month. It’s just been very wet which is more so the problem than the cold.

“There’s been no seeding been done at all, we’re really quite behind at the moment. It must be cold as there is no growth and hardly any fertiliser down in the county which is a sure sign that nothing is happening.”

At the other end of the country, Dumfries farmer Alastair Martin believes that the weather was especially difficult for hill farmers.

“I feel sorry for some of the hill men. Once you get a wee bit further up you’ve got everything going against it,” said Alastair.

“To be fair the last fortnight of March was alright down here. It wasn’t warm but it was dryish.”

Farming unions are currently discussing whether the weather justifies an emergency aid scheme.