Íæż½ã½ã

As we enter the New Year with trepidation and a little hope, farming life continues in its usual pattern and we are thankful for it.

Congratulations to fellow columnist Kate Beavan on her New Year Honour. It is great to see her efforts for agriculture being acknowledged in this way.

Happy New Year to you all and what a start to the new year it has been.

Christmas has come and gone once again and, like many families, it was very quiet this year, with family celebrations put on hold.

James Lacey is managing director of a Lincolnshire-based horticultural and agricultural business. A specialist in growing and packing flowers, James also grows potatoes, winter wheat and sugar beet. The farm covers about 1,000 hectares of rented land in South Lincolnshire. Follow him on Twitter @hortijames

This is the time of year for reflection after we get the last of the Christmas orders out of the shop.

I find myself writing my final In Your Field article. There is a lot of change on the horizon for 2021 in farming and in my own life and, although I will miss the writing, it is time for someone new to stretch their grey matter after a Christmas to remember, if possibly not for the right reasons.

I suppose it was always on the cards that I would end up being a tree hugger, especially being rather alternative in my youth. However, now the Government is encouraging us to be tree huggers I no longer feel such a rebel.

As 2020 draws to a close it is fairly natural to reflect on what the last year has dealt us; but that could get a bit complex.

Each morning’s tense debate of whether my little one can consume the advent calendar chocolate before or after breakfast signifies both that Christmas is on its way and, in our case, that it’s turkey time.