Flash floods aren’t only joker in pack we’ve been dealt
Those who were unlucky enough to catch the full force of last week’s thunder and lightning storms were left feeling like they’d been dealt a surprise joker from the pack in the great card game at the harvest casino.
For, just as the annual gathering in of grain was ready to start in earnest, the arrival of what felt like several feet of rain in one night led to widespread flash floods which tore out farm tracks and roads and flooded sheds and stores which had been prepared for harvest.
And the ensuing cleanup operation left many not only manning the bilge pumps but also firing up the digger or excavator rather than the combine as sheds destined to be filled with grain barely had time to be emptied of mud left by the water before grain trailers were in action repairing washed-out roads and bridges.
Some of the unluckiest victims of the storm who had winter barley or oilseed rape in their sheds awaiting collection also found themselves struggling to salvage their harvested crop – or filling out insurance claims.
But, like some formulaic computer game, the storm also left a lingering legacy of lots of tiny jokers in the form of swathes of driftwood, ponds and boggy wet holes in fields just lurking like a watery minefield to catch any unwary combine or trailer drivers trying to make a return to progressing with harvest.
The storm wasn’t the only surprise hand to be dealt out in the harvest gamble last week though – as those with barley contracts with one of the country’s largest grain merchant/malting businesses learnt that they might have to hold on to a portion of their grain until March next year.
And while it had been well flagged up that harvest movement of grain was likely to be slower than normal this year – with additional procedures required at intake to cope with the coronavirus crisis and a backlog of unused grain caused not only by last year’s bumper crops but also by the huge slump in demand which has been a result of the closure of pubs and clubs – most producers imagined that this might be gauged in days rather than months.
Keeping a quick turn round is key for many–and, with few having sufficient storage space required for anything approaching the entire harvest, getting crops moved as soon as they have been processed is often required to get that from the next field in.
As most farm buildings with walls and a roof are used to store grain during the harvest rush, fully disinfected cattle courts are brought into service on a temporary basis. But while the farm assurance body Scottish Quality Crops might be able to grant an extension beyond the normal end of September deadline for the use of such short term storage, it’s a fair bet that the cattle might want to be in well before March comes round.
On the wider front, though, while the biggest joker of all – in the shape of the Brexit negotiations – continues to hang over the sector, a new surprise jumped out of the political woodwork.
For who would have thought that the proposals in Westminster’s White Paper on the UK internal market would somehow manage to pose a major threat to the current arrangements which allow free and unhindered trade across the UK, with no barriers – and at the same time threaten to undermine many of the powers given to the devolved administrations over issues such as agriculture?
While concerns have been focused on the possible loss of the significant portion of Scotland’s trade with Europe, these new proposals would appear to present a threat to trade with the rest of the UK – including the 60 per cent of the country’s agri-exports that go south.
And by threatening the current Common Framework arrangements, the proposals put forward would limit the devolved administrations’ ability to act if any standards were lowered – and effectively give the UK government a final say in areas of devolved policy, such as agriculture, the environment or animal health and welfare.
So, put simply, a document designed to ensure a free internal market in the UK looks set to have the exact opposite effect.
Which only shows a pack of cards isn’t the only place you’ ll find a bunch of jokers.