Rather a wet week with wild an stormy weather affecting most of the UK.  Certainly it has made it unpleasant to be outside at times and possibly a time to spend some time in the farm office catching up on some paperwork. 

However looking at the data published by the Met Office to the end of 2022  it is welcome rain as they report that 2022 was a very dry year with pretty much all of England and Wales well below long term average rainfall.  Scotland too saw large deficits in large areas.  We all recall the long dry drought days of summer and cracked ground but reviewing the Met Office reveals that November was the only month that saw above average monthly rainfall.  Have a play for your location HERE.

Recent years we have seen dry drought-like Springs which have affected spring drilled crops and we've seen uneven germination and then secondary tillering  as crops respond to the dry conditions they experience.  Building ground water levels now to help prevent crop stress should another dry spring be around the corner should be welcomed.  Better to have a wet January ahead of Spring cultivation work and planting than a difficult planting season or anther dry spring.