We’re all dealing with unintended consequences

HUW Davies has asked me to help out with the column writing this week with the festive period in full swing. By the time you are reading this, turkey will have been eaten, crackers pulled and presents opened – I do hope you all had an enjoyable time.

A neighbour of mine inadvertently upset his better half recently which resulted in him swapping places with the dog – he ended up in the dog house, while the dog cosied up by the Rayburn.

Without going into the details of what happened, this must be the law of unintended consequences, which has been the headline since the referendum.

Since then, the country has been sadly divided on many issues.

I’ve never heard the word frictionless before but it seems to be the most common word spoken by our politicians at the moment.

Our Prime Minister, Theresa May, asked for a general election to strengthen her hand in the house.

Again, there was an unintended consequence here. Things went from bad to worse, and they still go on about things being frictionless. Funnily enough, nothing seems frictionless on my farm.

My heart skips a beat when I get that TB test date, knowing full well that more than 20% of farms in West Wales are under restriction. I feel I've got a better chance of winning the lottery than passing my TB test.

Is there any political will to rid this wretched disease I wonder?

I do hope however, that there is a strong will by our politicians to look after the agricultural industry within Wales after Brexit.

All this uncertainty is delaying investment, and stopping us from getting on and feeding the nation with safe, quality, affordable food. What is more important than that?

We’re buying in silage at the moment. I’ve got more lorry movements than Tesco on Christmas week.

This is another consequence of a long dry summer. With this in mind, it’s going to be an expensive winter; I daren’t look at my bank balance.

Let’s hope for an early spring.

Here’;s wishing you all a healthy, happy and frictionless farming new year and let’s hope for a 2019 with good weather, good health and a Brexit that works for everyone.

And, in case you were wondering, my neighbour is back in the house now in time for Christmas, although the dog still has dibs on the spot by the Rayburn.