A winter's tale of the farmer, his flock and the weeks of struggle in the snow

A man not prone to exaggeration, or wearing gloves, even by his hardy standards the last few weeks have been tough – and looking out of the window of his farmhouse, 1,000ft above sea level, the predicted big thaw still seems like a long way off.

With the snow still a couple of feet deep in some places, as Deepdale is two miles up a narrow winding road from Buckden, few have bothered to attempt the journey to the farm.

It turns out I'm the first visitor David and his wife Margaret have had for weeks. With their tractor unable to negotiate the steep icy lane which leads to their home, any urgent deliveries have had to be brought up on a quad bike.

It's been like this for almost a month and while David stands against what many would describe as a Christmas card setting, the snow looking like it's freshly laid, the novelty has already begun to wear thin.

"When the first blanket comes it makes everything look tidy, but it's hard work," he says, pulling on his waterproofs and pointing to the tops of the hills where his 750-strong flock of Swaledale sheep should now be grazing. With the ground frozen solid and the grass covered with a thick layer of snow, they've had to be moved to lower ground where David and his son, Nigel, can feed them twice a day.

"We go out when it gets light about 7.30am to give them some hay and then again late afternoon," he says. "They might not have a reputation for being the most intelligent of animals, but they know what food looks like.

"You have to hang around a bit, because the older ones, those who have a few winters under their belt, know to get to the front first. The greedy ones do all right, but you have to be a look out for the ones not so assertive."

David, forever accompanied by his sheepdog Meg, is now 69 and is blessed with the kind of laid- back approach which only comes with years of experience. He grew up on a farm in Nidderdale and moved to Deepdale with his wife when his elder brother took over the family business. They intended to stay five, possibly six years, before moving onto a bigger property.

However, the 1960s and '70s weren't particularly kind to farmers and they ended up staying put. He can't quite remember how long they've been there now, 45 maybe 46 years, but it's long enough to have weathered many bad winters.

The worst was 1978-79. Snow began to fall before Christmas, 15ft drifts saw some communities cut off for weeks and for three months the country was paralysed by blizzards and sub-zero temperatures. David still remembers having to dig sheep out of the snow.

"When it's cold they don't tend to move around so much," he says, holding out a handful of hay. In a matter of seconds, it's gone. "The snow gets caught underneath in a big ball and they can literally freeze to the ground. We lost a few that year."

Farmers don't tend to get sentimental about livestock, but for David the winter of three decades ago left a lasting impression and this year he knows the worst may be yet to come. In between trying to fix the electrics in his kitchen and checking on Deepdale's herd of cattle, he's also been working out how long the farm's own supplies of hay and silage will last. He suspects that if the freezing weather continues for another week they will be forced to track down extra feed from Northallerton or Wetherby. It will cost, but if they don't there may be a much bigger price to pay in the spring.

"Cows don't fare too bad in the snow," he says. "They're quite happy in the sheds. The pipe which would normally supply their water has frozen, but we can cope with that, it's the sheep which need more looking after.

"We need to keep them well fed, because if we don't it could have a knock-on effect for lambing. Sheep, like all of us, have an in-built self-preservation mechanism and if they don't have enough food there's a chance they could reabsorb the foetus of the unborn lamb.

"They're already getting a bit weary and there is also the problem of the pregnant ewes bumping into each other in the rush to get food. It's part of the reason why we've separated them into two groups. That and because when you walk into a field of hungry sheep with a big pile of hay you don't want to end up underneath it."

While the temperature may not have risen much above freezing, there has been one small ray of sunshine. A fortnight ago, David received his cheque from the Rural Payments Agency on time and for the correct amount.

"I know, wonders will never cease," he smiles. Surrounded by rolling hills, David often has cause to think why the major decisions to affect farmers are made by people far removed from the heart of agriculture. For now his main priority might be ensuring his animals survive the snow, but in the background lies a mounting pile of bureaucracy and red tape.

"Aside from sending out endless glossy brochures, the latest brainwave from those on high was to produce a digital map of everyone's land. A great idea in practice, but I know one farmer in Sheffield who ended up being allocated a farm in Newcastle.

"I told him to take some sheep up there and then see what they'd say. Sometimes the whole thing is so ludicrous, you just have to laugh."

It will be a feeling familiar to many who, like David, remember much simpler times. However, while a few idiotic decisions by government and a few weeks of Arctic weather may be frustrating, life does carry on.

"Farmers don't retire, at least I don't think they do," he says, shaking the snow off his well-worn boots. "You just do what you've always done, only slower and not quite as well."

HOW THE FRIDGE BECAME A HOT SPOT...

When the inside of a fridge is warmer than outdoors, you know things are bad.

Each year Guy Poskitt supplies 40,000 tonnes of carrots from his farm in Goole to Asda, but the last two weeks have proved something of a challenge.

"In between getting the carrots out of the ground and inside we noticed they were freezing," he says. "It sounds crazy, but we've had to keep them in a fridge where it's a couple of degrees warmer.

"Before the bad weather hit we had covered most of our crop with straw. It's not cheap, and the ones we left as a gamble have been lost. It's not too much of a setback, it just means we won't have a surplus.

"It has been all hands on deck and we've been working evenings and weekends to ensure we meet our orders. The real problem is that a lot of our machines just won't work when its so cold. Digging swedes out of the ground by hand is not a great job, but someone has to do it."

While the Arctic snap may have caught many city dwellers out, farmers, always braced to expect the unexpected, have largely been better prepared and in some cases the sub-zero temperatures may have actually done them a favour.

"The last couple of winters have been fairly mild, which is bad news in terms of bugs for some plants," says Mike Prest, a pot plant grower from Goldsborough, near Knaresborough. "Looking on the bright side, this year's cold weather might actually have killed off pests and diseases which like a warmer breeding ground."

Proof perhaps that even the heaviest snow clouds have a silver lining.