While our silage was late, now that it is covered and settled I think it is the biggest first-cut we have ever had.

The programme of reseeding over the last number of years has given us increased quantities of higher quality material, though as I mentioned last week, the analysis will tell a lot.

We still have some silage left from two years ago, and it is astonishing how well preserved it is after all that time and seems to be highly palatable from the cattle’s point of view.

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We are still finishing off the last of the shed cattle, and it has been a huge relief to see some of the recent beef price cuts reversed.

At one stage it seemed that a real floor in the beef price was never going to be reached.

The key question now is how much of a second cut do we take and how many cattle should we plan to carry next winter.

One aspect of the dairy beef system that has not been much commented on is that with a predominantly Holstein Friesian dam, much more concentrates are needed to achieve an acceptable finish compared with the ease of finishing at grass you get from the pure Hereford or Angus steer.

On the tillage side, I had thought that the very hot spell last week would have dramatically sped up the ripening in the winter barley crops.

In fact, while they may have turned, they are a long way off harvesting – at least two weeks I reckon, and maybe three.

The talk of a very early harvest at least around us seems wide of the mark.

Winter barley

On the straw side, I had applied for the straw incorporation scheme, both for some of the winter barley and the winter wheat. However, while there is talk of an over subscription, my usual customer has assured me that he wants as much winter barley straw as I will have available, so I have applied to the Department to withdraw my application.

I have already pre-sold the oilseed rape straw, and I was relieved to see the wheaten straw that I had stored since last harvest completely cleared up, so I presume the mushroom trade will absorb whatever wheaten straw is available.

On the disease control front, the cereals are all finished. We have given one spray to the beans for chocolate spot; whether that will be enough to see us to harvest is at this stage an open question. The one area where we have no control over is the price.