June always starts with the Royal Cornwall Show. The three days spent here are, like attendance at the majority of agricultural shows, part business opportunity and part holiday.

My days there seem to get busier each year, with a combination of stewarding and attending various events filling the three days.

We are very lucky in Cornwall to have been able to maintain a show with such a strong agricultural bias and sound financial base and full credit must go to the organisers for that.

I have also managed to fit in a visit to Cereals this year. I had no particular agenda for the trip, but found it particularly interesting from a technical point of view.

Driving east it was apparent that crops were more forward than at home. In general, crops looked well and confirmed the widespread view that a sizable harvest is on the cards.

I have always had a theory that a big heap and a lower price always pays better than a small heap with a high price. This year, however, with tumbling grain prices in advance of harvest it is going to be interesting to see whether it still holds true.

Now the second half of June is upon us, there is a sudden increase in workload at home as we have started lifting and windrowing daffodil bulbs. Dry weather has made the process straightforward so far – long may it continue, as it is the one factor that helps us the most in achieving a good-quality product. The majority of our bulbs are destined for export to the USA in time for autumn planting, which results in a tight window in which to get them lifted, dried, cleaned and sized in order to meet our customers’ schedules.

The sprayer has also been busy, with the wheat T3 spray applied by mid-month. Luckily potato blight pressure seems to have eased a little lately from an intense early start. We have also managed to drill the remainder of the swede, made hay for the sheep and started irrigating the onions and potatoes in the past few days. A busy few months beckon.

Jeremy Oatey manages 1,100ha of arable land near Plymouth in Cornwall and is Farmers Weekly Arable Farmer of the Year. Cropping includes wheat, barley, oilseed rape, oats and beans as well as potatoes, onions, swedes and daffodils.