Wet weather has meant no field work yet in any of the three countries we operate in. We’ll be very busy when we can get on.

Our focus is on trying to get inputs in place for the campaign.

Until now it has paid not to buy seed and fertiliser, as prices have fallen because manufacturers can’t generate sales.

Working capital has become a real issue in Hungary and the Ukraine. We’ve even had our supermarket customer not paying for a month because of its financial year end.

The Ministry of Agriculture has paid some of the money we’re due in Hungary, which has eased the pressure a bit. But we’re still waiting for quite a lot more.

We’ve received final approval for our new potato store and packing shed subsidy, which we will be able to claim in April. But payment will probably take at least six months.

The continual currency movements are making planning and financing very difficult, with the Ukrainian hryvna losing over 60% of its value against the dollar in six months.

The Hungarian forint has lost 30% against the euro in the same period. That fall has been a disaster for the dairy, in particular, as many of our inputs are based in euros or dollars. In just a year we’ve seen the milk price halve in euro terms.

However, the weak forint has helped grain and potato returns a little in forint terms, giving us a 15% rise in potato prices with our customer.

Banks have given up lending, and the government has announced that the national area aid top up will not be available for the coming season as it tries to cut expenditure.

It would be nice to get some decent spring weather for fieldwork to take my mind off all these financial problems.

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