Last month, I was remarking on the lack of slugs. But 20mm of rainfall later and my direct drilling has had some serious grazing. The usual scenario – it was fine on Friday, but by Monday looked somewhat different.

Min-tilled wheat looks superb with virtually no slug damage due to near perfect seed-beds, confirming attention to detail pays. Blackgrass pressure seems low currently with the old conundrum: Do we spray now or wait a while? Soil temperatures are getting down to single figures so if we are going to spray it should be sooner rather than later.

Firm prices tempted me into selling some oilseed rape this week, taking us up to about 30% sold. The government economic growth figure of 0.8% has strengthened the pound, just bringing the price down again so we just caught a peak. I wish I could tell you it was good marketing, but good luck springs to mind.

The jury’s out on whether George Osborne is a friend or foe. I guess it will take a few weeks for the nuts and bolts of the spending cuts to filter through. My naivety surfaced again as I read DEFRA-funded quangos are being slashed from 92 to 39. I don’t think I could name 39, let alone 92.

I’ve been at Belvoir three months now and I have started my review. What’s becoming clear is how well the company has been run historically. Fixed costs are some of the lowest I’ve seen and variable costs are modest, too. I’m keen to make my mark, but conscious about retaining the levels of profitability the business is used to. It’s going to be quite a challenge… bring it on.

For all you professional growers out there, why do elderflowers grow where you don’t want them and not where you do? Answers on a postcard.