June is here and looking like being ‘flaming June’. May’s monsoon conditions provided challenges.
I am writing this on Thursday evening after a day away from the farm spent doing a social media photography course organised by our local machinery ring.
Amy Wilkinson works on her family’s tenanted farm in Lancashire. Working mainly with her dad, Amy farms 285ha of arable crops and 550 beef cross cattle which are all reared through to finishing. You can follow her on Instagram @amygingewilkinson
Mentioning the lack of rain in my last column had the same effect as getting the barbecue out: the rain arrived duly arrived, but unfortunately in rather a deluge.
If I were to go by this year’s weather, April showers would become a myth and be replaced with wet and windy May, or something slightly more catchy.
Finally, the rain has come. We’ve had over a 100mm in a fortnight and the fertiliser we spread last month has kicked in and the grass has responded.
At last, the countryside around us in Aberdeenshire is starting to turn green, with the odd splash of yellow but still lots of brown.
By way of an update from last month, calf jackets are now off but almost went back on again when May seemed to get mixed up with March. The main herd is also out, but only just.
Complaining about the weather is standard practice for most of us and although I’ve tried to avoid the subject when writing these articles, the recent cold conditions are making it difficult to look past.