What a difference a few days make! There I was last week complaining about the cold, slow spring. And suddenly this week everything has changed. The land dried out, temperatures began to rise and autumn drilled crops started to turn green. So, with sun on our backs, on Wednesday we started drilling sugar beet.
By tonight (Friday) with luck we should have three quarters of our acreage in. If the forecast is right we won't complete the job because it should rain tomorrow. But even if the last field is delayed until next week some light rain should ensure those in the ground germinate evenly.
Seed beds have been achieved in one pass after the frosts of the winter meaning that the land has not been compacted and that soft soil covers the seed. All too often if we don't get a frost tilth some seeds on our heavier fields end up being covered by little clods and having to be rolled to protect them from the weather, mice and skylarks. Not this year.
In other words we are off to a good start with spring work. Soil temperatures are still a little cold for the peas that we want to drill next so we won't be in too much of a hurry. All we need now is continued warm weather with half an inch of rain every weekend. Then, despite inadequate prices for most arable crops, we will begin to enjoy farming again.