Put sowing on ice: While there is still some potato harvesting taking place, it would seem to me that planting might now be put on ice for the rest of this month. Perhaps wet ground will prevent it anyway but the lowering of soil temperatures would mean that it will take forever to emerge. And every week is trouble from crows and slugs.

Making the decision to park up machinery frees up the head to think about other things that need to be or should be done.

It’s not a bad time to think about how you might handle weeds next spring and you can begin to update yourself on the new fungicide options. But don’t jump to early conclusions on herbicide choice because the overall pressure may be far lower on later-planted crops. There may also be a level of weed emergence between now and spring.

Sprayers: Recent heavy frosts reinforce the need to make sure your sprayer is protected from freezing. But before you put it away make sure it is in full working condition in case a half chance opens up sometime over the next two months. You might also check if your sprayer certificate is valid or due to expire in the near future.

Most importantly, don’t forget the antifreeze.

This is essential for winter protection of the sprayer. When you put in the antifreeze mix make sure it is circulated through all the sprayer lines and hoses. Spray some liquid out through the nozzles and circulate it through all the section control hoses and the full pressure and control unit before you park it up. This could be a very profitable use of your time if we get a hard frost.

Nutrient plans: This is a good time to think about your planned nutrient requirement for the coming year and to check that you have adequate records for the year gone by. You need to have an accurate and up-to-date nutrient plan for N and P as this will be required in the event of an inspection.

A nutrient plan should not be just for the inspector. It should be a useful tool for the grower to guide the application of nutrients on to each individual field to help long-term productivity.

Your N, P and K requirements need to be calculated on the combined indices and allowances of each individual field. Adding the requirement for each nutrient produces your farm N, P and K allowances. In doing this you need recent soil tests to guide requirements.

Soil testing: Recent soil analysis is essential both for nutrient planning and crop performance. A soil test needs to be no more than four years old to be relevant and you need a soil test result for every 5ha. So have your test results up to date to guide good farm practice.

It is important to realise that additional fertiliser on any crops will generally not fully compensate for low soil fertility.

Soil fertility and health must be built up over time and such land will always have higher yield potential.

So get tests taken now so you can get the results back in time for fertiliser and lime application as required in spring.