FARM DIARY By Gwyn Jones

It is good growing weather however, and the warm wet spell is certainly productive as far as grass and maize growth is concerned. Harvest has started in the south, and when the sun comes out, the combines are rolling.

There is no great excitement about harvest this year and the bad weather has driven the price of old crop feed wheat through the roof. Things will ease a little when the new crop comes on stream later this month.

Our cows are back out again enjoying the fresh grass, with conditions fine for grazing once more, but how do I stop them belching? It is suggested that the methane emitting from my cows is contributing to global warming and climate change! I kid you not.

There are 'experts' out there who are asking scientists to do something about this problem; apparently each cow belches out between 100 and 200 litres of methane a day, and 'something must be done'.

The challenge is to formulate a diet that causes less flatulence! What is the world coming to? As I chat to my cows in the field, they quietly burp away as they cud, and we all watch as aircraft (running on tax free fuel) circle overhead as they stack for Gatwick airport. One of my cows apparently does as much harm to the environment as a Land-Rover travelling 33 miles. I asked Pudding what she thought of that statistic; Buuuuuuurrrrrrrrppppppppp! Quite.

Frank Tyndall tells me that the irrigation dams in Victoria, Australia are full, with overflows at 'major flood' last week. These dams are massive, and were empty after the drought; the irrigation season for next summer is now assured, but there are kilometres of fencing to be replaced and repaired after the water and debris washed them away.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette July 18