Weather: there is no shortage of jobs on farms at present. It’s a matter of what needs to be done first.

Winter crops are good and have great potential, so get fertiliser out on them if you have not already. A nice number of farmers have gotten out on to winter crops, but a lot could not travel.

You can also apply herbicide where needed if temperatures aren’t fluctuating, but avoid stressing the crop and wait until fertiliser has kicked in if you need to.

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Most winter crops have grown significantly in the last few weeks.

Cover crops: there are a lot of cover crops in the country which have not been sprayed off or destructed. Some may have got this job done in the last few days. If you haven’t and you think that there may have been grass weeds in your cover crops or you can see grass weeds then you should try to get this job done.

Ploughing: there is loads of ploughing to be done and as land dries out progress will be made. We are only heading for the middle of March now and while we should try to aim to get crops in early it is also important to get crops into good seedbeds, so patience will be needed in some cases.

Orders: get seed and fertiliser into the yard and have it on hand for when you are ready to sow. It might also be handy to have pre-emergence herbicide in stock for bean crops so that you can spray it when you get the chance.

Pre-emergence application needs to be carried out on beans to maximise weed control. Finalise your cropping plans and make sure you are complying with the two and three crop rules where needed – three crops for over 30ha and two crops for 10-20ha.

Beans: planting beans needs to be a priority on farms. Hiring in a contractor with a direct drill can save a lot of time and put the seed down deep, although you should not drill too far down at this time of the year.

The risk of crows is lower and you want the crop to emerge quickly. Some fields that had a cover crop or green cover over winter could be planted and sprayed with a mixture of glyphosate and a pre-emergence herbicide to try to control any remaining weeds if they have not already been controlled. If the cover is too heavy this might not give good control.

Markets: keep an eye on grain markets and check in with your merchant or co-op for prices. Markets have shown increases, but this may not last. You should have your costs of growing the crop calculated, have an estimated yield and a point at which you are happy to sell at in order to make a profit.

If this price comes, maybe you should consider forward selling some grain to take out some of the risk. You can sell small amounts at a time and it could be a help on incomes, but not everyone is comfortable doing this.