It’s great to see the sun shining. We have had two weeks of excellent weather, allowing potato planting to advance.

Lots of long hours and late nights were required, but a great deal of work can be done in a short period if conditions allow. We still have one field of potatoes and one of carrots to plant.

It’s crazy that in the past couple of days we had an inch of rain and I was glad to see it, as the crops in the ground needed it.

See also: What the mancozeb withdrawal date means for potato growers

About the author

Richard Orr

Richard Orr farms cereals and potatoes in a reduced cultivation system in County Down, Northern Ireland, with his wife and two children. He is a cereals and oilseeds sector council member and focuses on soil and plant health. He also keeps a small number of cattle, pigs and sheep.

Read more articles by Richard Orr

Wheat and oats are looking clean now. All the winter crops were dirty with disease but the rapid growth and drier weather has helped greatly.

The only concern I currently have with cereals is slug numbers – the wheat is crawling with them. We desperately need the strong sun to drive them back down into the ground.

The early potatoes planted by hand are advancing. After sitting in chitting trays for so long, now that they have at last been planted they seem confused.

Blooms are forming on the plants – and they have only been in the ground for a month. It may hinder yield but should speed up how quickly we can get them to harvest.

It makes it easier working in the Healthy Horticulture tent at the Balmoral Show, knowing that it’s too wet to plant potatoes today.

The shows’ horticulture marquee is great for interaction with the general public on where their food comes from.

This is something that the Ulster Farmers’ Union, the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise and the AHDB need to build on, as there is a clear lack of understanding.

For example, I was talking to one lady who gets oats on prescription from the chemist because ‘normal oats’ contain gluten.

I was trying to explain that oats themselves do not contain gluten and it’s only the possibility of cross-contamination that stops them being gluten free on the packet. She looked at me as if I had two heads.

Farming is a popular topic in the press and we need to make more of our time in the spotlight. Many areas are raising their profile, while Northern Ireland is staying under the radar.