Farm Life - 1976 revisited

by Roger Hill

Water is such a precious commodity, one that we take for granted in a ‘typical English summer’. This year however we have all felt the effects of a prolonged dry spell, both positive and negative.

Some crops such as maize have thrived with the heat, as have our mature vines, but the newly planted ones have certainly stressed. Cattle and sheep are content as long as they have water and shade. Dairy cows though need constant fresh feed and some winter fodder has already been fed to supplement the parched pastures.

It has been a lack of drinking water that has been a negative. We live on top of a hill and rely on strong water pressure, but along with our neighbours we have struggled to keep enough water in front of the cattle. Frustratingly at the same time there have been major leaks in the antiquated and poorly maintained mains water pipes.

A positive has been some spectacular drone footage, not just showing desert like conditions, but some very interesting archaeological finds. Also September 1976 had an astonishing end to the drought when, after a few days of rain, we had an abundance of mushrooms in fields not seen before or since. Who knows, perhaps again this year! ‘Til next time, Roger #TuppertheTractor (website: quoit-at-cross.co.uk)

July saw only 6mm of rain against an average of 42mm, and just over 1mm had fallen in the first 2 weeks of August with a typical month average of 94mm (Met Office) - see drought story on page 8