Weather

Farmers Weather - Why all the fuss?

Agriculture is an industry greatly affected by the weather in one way or the other. Farmers have historically been amongst the best weather forecasters of recent generations, largely because their livelihood often depended on their ability to predict and safeguard against adverse weather conditions.

The saying 'red sky at night...' is an old saying passed down through generations of farmers and shepherds who used their experience to forecast any weather changes likely to impact on their farm, crops or animals.

These days advances in modern technology have made their job a little easier, but still farmers face many problems that only the weather could pose.

Each different activity carried out on a modern day farmyard is usually best suited to one particular type of weather or another. For example, a farmer would hope for mild weather for haymaking and to a greater extent crop growing as heavy wind and rain can interfere with the insecticides used for their protection.

On the flip side, there are times when mild dry conditions are most inconvenient and steady consistent rain is the weather farmers' most want. In reality there is no such thing as perfect farmer's weather, as it depends on what is planned for that day or even week ahead.

With the current financial climate, the unpredictability of weather is an unwelcome concern making the weather forecast an essential tool for any farmer!