ABSTRACT

A variable summer with warm dry periods interspaced with rainy weather may even be the best weather for high cereal yields as, indeed, appeared to be the case in England in 1982. The critical weather period for all crops is at the time of harvest, and unless conditions are favourable, a year’s work may be set to naught. The weather requirements of a livestock farmer differ from those of a mainly arable farmer, which is why their farms are situated in different climatic areas separated by an intermediate zone of mixed farming. In general, weather extremes of all kinds will cause problems, and it is not surprising that harvest festival and harvest suppers celebrate the end of a difficult farming operation. Incorrect winter feeding can induce a copper deficiency causing a disease known as ‘swayback’, but this tends to be absent in hard winters because there is more hand feeding of better quality food.