So far there has been nothing like as much effluent from the silage as I expected.

We got the silage made last week, a bit later than ideal but at the end of the day, we were able to cut the grass when the crop was dry.

We left it till the following day and while there was bits of drizzle, there were no downpours.

Our contractor with his self-propelled precision cut made great progress and by half nine on Thursday evening, our first-cut was finished.

It’s always a relief to have the bulk of the winter feed secured, but in a spell of broken unpredictable weather such as this late May, early June, there was more anxiety than normal.

The pit is well covered and slurry and fertiliser will now go out for the second-cut.

We are rapidly running down our numbers of fit cattle.

It’s just as well as the feed in the slatted passage is acting as a magnet for every crow in the area.

I was advised to try one of those kites attached to a long rod stuck in the ground.

People may have seen them near the runways at Dublin airport but while they look very impressive, their deterrent effect wore off rapidly and the crows soon resumed rummaging through the cattle feed.

We have a keen shooter as a near neighbour and I will encourage him to get some extra target practice!

Last week, we had no option but to take a reduction in price – despite that, the grass cattle are not out in any numbers but with factories killing less days, it’s a game of cat and mouse between farmers and factories.

With most of the cattle out grazing, we are moving them to a fresh paddock every day and getting good utilisation despite the broken weather, but even after a day the paddocks have a muckier appearance than during the dry sunny spell.

Out in the crops, the wheat is the only cereal crop that needs its final ear spray but this wet weather is ideal for chocolate spot on beans.

Of all the crops, the beans have been utterly transformed with the change in weather.

The previously struggling drought-affected plants have almost overnight grown at least a foot and have an abundance of blossoms and stems that are as thick as you would expect at harvest time in September.

Certainly their potential has been transformed – we now want to realise it to the greatest extent possible.