The Year Round: Waiting for the elusive spring to finally arrive

By mid March the fields were still brown and bare. Some 200 acres carry 80 breeding ewes and 100 head of cattle.

We took advantage of the dry weather to empty our middens clean out and spread the contents on the land. On these West Riding hills such opportunities are infrequent.

We sold a mixed bag of ewes and lambs, mainly Texel crosses. Prices were quite good and they have certainly paid for wintering.

Newly calven cows, usually one or two a week, keep yields well up and it should do until mid April when we hope to have some fresh grass.

Fertiliser spreading will not begin until there are signs of some growth. A wet spell would drive all the nitrogen fertilisers down the drains, and it is too expensive to risk wasting. All fertiliser is now in stock at slightly above last year's prices.

Our 50 dairy cows are yielding well, with all milk going direct to retailers. They have a long term contract with us, which suits both parties.

Supermarkets seem to squeeze the price of milk when it suits them. One supermarket transport followed its sat nav down one of our bridle tracks, along which no-one else ever goes, even with a tractor. Inevitably they got stuck and needed heavy cattle to extricate themselves.

That done, they lost all interest in the case but demolished several yards of stone walling and set a house corner at risk. This has cost me hours of time and phone bills, but a settlement is on the horizon.

Spring birds have not arrived here yet. There are lots of sparrowhawks around which attack small birds in such a flush that you can hardly see them.