The recent Energy Show at Newark left my head spinning with ideas on how I could save the planet. Many of the technologies on show could apply to farmers, if only so much capital wasn’t needed to set them up.

Cash-flow doesn’t appear to worry some people, though it does worry me. So we’ll be staying with mains electric for now and I’m waiting for deliveries of granular urea. This feels like a regressive step, but the harsh reality of wheat at £105/t for next year has forced my hand.

The recent cold snap has left me less than convinced that I would get the best from my Atlantis (iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron) if I applied it this autumn, so I have opted for a holding spray to get me through to the spring on the worst affected areas. Time will tell if this is the right decision.

In the spirit of the festive season I thought I would publish my Christmas wish list for the next 12 months before I post it up the chimney:

1) Harvest 2008 yields combined with sensible summer weather.

2) Keira Knightley to finally answer my job advert for a harvest casual.

3) Commodity prices to stabilise at a level where everyone can make a sensible living.

4) That the England rugby/cricket teams might at least threaten to win something worthwhile.

5) For Gordon Brown to hold his hands up and confess he can’t run the economy/country as well as he thought, and perhaps admit that excessive lending is the problem, not necessarily the solution.

6) A deterrent for rats, pigeons and crows that’s cheap and doesn’t require too much attention.

7) The same as No 2 just in case Santa missed it first time.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

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