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MENDIP TIMES
How the weather affects farming
DIFFERENT farming systems around the country don’t happen by chance. They are generally decided by topography and “normal” weather conditions. There is almost a straight line down the middle of the country with the west being grass based with grazing livestock and the east, arable With NICK GREEN and vegetable production with pigs and poultry. Whilst I acknowledge this is a generalisation, having travelled from Cornwall via Exmoor up to Cheshire, across to Norfolk and back to Somerset in the last month it is generally true. In the middle of June, grassland in the South West was lush and grazing cattle and sheep predominated. Further north and a week later, there were still cattle and sheep but the grass was noticeably shorter. Across to East Anglia, wallowing pigs were the only animals to be seen outside and irrigators were spraying water everywhere you looked. If it hadn’t been for the irrigation, the east of the country would have been burnt brown while the west would have still been bathed in a sea of green. There are exceptions and west Cornwall and west Wales are prime ones. Early potatoes and cauliflowers are the crops of choice for farmers who benefit from the Gulf Stream and plenty of rain. Back closer to home and you can expect to see combine
FARMING
harvesters cutting spring barley, wheat and oats this month. This marks the end of the annual cycle and before we know it, everything starts again. Crop rotations are confirmed, seed choices made and the fields cultivated ready for the seeds to be sown. The only thing the farmers can’t control is the weather. No doubt, for the next month arable farmers will be wishing for dry weather. On the other hand, the livestock farmers will be wishing for rain to keep the grass growing.
Nick Green is Farms Director for Alvis Bros Ltd based at Lye Cross Farm. He is responsible for the farming and estate business and is passionate about British food and farming. As well as the business, he is involved with a number of local and national farming charities.
Health hubs for farmers
FARMERS and agricultural workers who visit livestock markets in Somerset are now able to access health and emotional wellbeing support while they buy and sell their livestock. It follows the launch of two new health hubs, operated by a team of NHS nurses with support from many different farming and community-based charities and local businesses. The new hubs at Frome Livestock Market and Exmoor Farmers Livestock Auction have been set up following the success of the Derek Mead Health Room – the first health hub of this type that opened in 2018 at the Sedgemoor Auction Centre in Bridgwater. Along with general health checks, farmers can get specialist advice from NHS professionals about lifestyle, as well as any concerns about their emotional wellbeing and mental health. Jane Fitzgerald, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s manager responsible for the health hubs, said: “Feedback from the first hub – the Derek Mead Health Room in Bridgwater – shows that having nurses and volunteers who understand farming PAGE 10 • MENDIP TIMES • AUGUST 2022
The Frome team
communities really helps farmers to connect and engage with health services where they may not otherwise have thought about doing so.”
