You can imagine my surprise late one night, while waiting for the combine driver to throw another tank full of grain in my direction, to hear that London was on fire. My first thought was that if it was a bakery again, this may revitalise the otherwise sliding grain price.

Then the radio crackled into life saying the cause of the violence was the young and disillusioned of society trying to prove their point. I’m sure there are many in our industry working every hour possible, who are wondering exactly what their point is.

No doubt there will now be investigations and quangos set up to try and identify the reasons for the lawlessness, just like there were for bovine TB. Although a cull may not be an appropriate course of action, it will be interesting to see if any faded rock-stars come out in support of the hooligans.

My sense of outrage was exacerbated upon receiving a letter from a grain merchant saying that all BACS grain payments will now be made on the 21st of the month. They had the audacity to try and soften the blow of having to wait up to seven weeks for your grain money by saying it will help farmers with budgeting and managing cashflow. I’ll be taking this matter up with the NFU at our next branch meeting. How long will it be until the 50-day payment plan becomes 60?

On the bright side, the harvest is all safely in the barn except for the beans, which are not exactly going to cause any storage issues. All has gone well with pleasing yields despite the drought. Oilseed rape drilling is now the main focus and with nearly 200ha more to do this year, it’s requiring more focus.

Will Howe farms 384ha of medium to heavy land at Ewerby Thorpe Farm, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, growing wheat, oilseed rape and winter beans.

Read more from Will and our other Arable Farmer Focus writers.