Farm Diary

I saw a little bird jumping into a bucket of water in the garden, several times, presumably to cool down, not something I had seen before.

I can see how the bush fires would rage with this sort of fiery wind behind it, and Frank was telling me that the wind direction can change dramatically, taking a fire in a completely different direction, which not only leaves fire-fighters with an impossible task, but making it highly dangerous.

We visited Nuffield Scholar Max Jelbart at his farm and the whole district is bare, scorched earth with not a blade of green grass in sight. This is South Gippsland; dry country (no irrigation), and it is early Autumn which means the dairy herds are calving down to the 'autumn break' (rain), due on March 15 usually.

Max's cows will be fully fed with silage and concentrates for at least a month, although he has not grazed his paddocks too short, and the ryegrass is there waiting for moisture. I also saw his new American direct seed drill, which is a very impressive bit of kit indeed, and in action drilling grass seed ready for the rain.

Max was his usual philosophical self, stating that the drought of the last few years has been very costly, but that no one forces him (or anyone else) to be a dairy farmer '“ a pretty healthy attitude (British dairy farmers take note!).

For full diary see West Sussex Gazette March 19