One of the least productive jobs is shifting slurry from a full slatted tank to one with room. Because of the BEAM restrictions I have been unable to buy cattle until I am sure that I meet the stocking rate reduction conditions so we still have room in some of the tanks.

It was just as well we had the room as we have been unable to get any slurry out, with land saturated for the last fortnight.

The recent cold snap, with a strong dry east wind, should dry land out quickly provided we don’t get too much snow. In the meantime, I have got all my soil samples back from Teagasc so we can start preparing another of the new requirements – the nutrient management plan.

Looking at the analyses returns, I am stuck by how few of the fields need any lime. The bulk of the land is between a pH of 6.6 and 7 with some of the reclaimed land up to 7.5 and even above. This high pH land has an element of a peaty texture and would presumably be classed as a high alkaline fen.

It is noticeable that its structure is weak compared with the normal mineral soil and I suspect that late grazing has compacted the layer of soil just beneath the surface with more water lying on the area than I would like.

I am also struck by how difficult it is proving to be to get soil phosphorus levels up in the tillage land. Every year, we put out about 40 units of phosphate on pretty well all of the crops but still the bulk of the fields are stubbornly stuck at index 2 with a few at index 1, in other words still requiring a full application of expensive P.

I would like to get out with a first compound dressing on the oilseed rape but with ground conditions and cold temperatures, growth is minimal even though the land that is grazed, but not too badly, by the pigeons could do with a helping boost.