Our new solar installation of 26 panels is now installed and commissioned.

With the installation of the panels is a battery – a precondition if we were to qualify for the TAMS grant.

Over two days, the installation team brought the current generated by the panels through the inverter, a mechanism to convert the current from direct to alternating along the outhouse wall and through the mass concrete into the fuse box while bringing the battery into the loop.

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My phone was then given access to a personalised app that shows graphically the amount of electricity being generated in real time and where it is going – to top up the battery, to the grid or to where it is actually being consumed.

I find the sophistication of the whole technology incredibly impressive, but presumably for the generation following mine it’s simply part of everyday life.

After my mention of our venture into the solar project last week, I was surprised and grateful for the helpful letters I received.

Meanwhile out on the land, I have never seen the grass such a vibrant green at this time of year.

The early closed paddocks have covers fit to graze after the long mild spell but, while the grass might be fit to graze, the land certainly isn’t.

The incessant rain has, as I mentioned last week, prevented us from post-emergent spraying of the cereals.

It has also showed up the spots that need remedial drainage which I hope to tackle immediately after the 2026 harvest.

Meanwhile, the Department payments are mostly in. While we may grumble at how it has been reduced over the last few years, the Department’s efficiency in getting the payments out should be commended.