The year is at an end and we look forward to 2013 with hope and optimism.
Hope, because we have just endured the wettest year since records began. We are fortunate in this part of the world to have escaped nature’s worst, thanks in no small part to our efficient drainage system and the fine work that all our local IDBs do.
It makes me wonder whether local authorities will ever learn that nature cannot be interfered with, and building works should never be allowed on natural flood plains.
Despite the woes many have experienced weather-wise during 2012, we must hope that 2013 cannot be as bad.
Optimism, because many growers managed to establish crops in good time last autumn and these crops now look pretty reasonable, albeit with a few puddles here and there. They are, however, surviving the conditions and look to be in generally decent order.
Plainly though there are growers still looking at waterlogged fields which need to be cultivated and drilled.
It’s worth reminding ourselves that 2012 has been a momentous year for the UK. We have had Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, which has seen huge numbers of people turning out to wish her well. Additionally, the country has hosted the most successful Olympic and Paralympic Games ever, delivering a really amazing feelgood factor for the whole country to bask in.
Let’s try and carry some of this optimism into 2013.
Happy New Year.