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Let's start with the record-breaking news, although I'm not sure that knowing that February had the highest rainfall in 250 years is the sort of record we want to be hearing about

This month, Roger Evans discusses the situation in rural communities, delves into the world of politics and recounts a tale about rats and chainsaws

After a steady start to calving at Houghton Lodge in early February we were fully back on track by the beginning of March and had delivered over 630 calvings in four weeks equating to 59% of the expected 1,070 calvings due by the beginning of May

With peak milk for the UK now less than two months away the awareness of the spring flush is dominating European trading sentiment

A good number of milk buyers are increasing their milk prices as we head into spring

I start this column on a high; we have just returned from a skiing holiday in France

Part of our exit strategy if you like, was to get planning permission on three of our conventional buildings. I would hasten to add that our exit was forced upon us

Arla holding their milk price for February following their 3€c/kg increase for January, together with Müller deciding to leave their Müller Direct price unchanged for March, posting the fifth consecutive month of price stability, has the effect of locking in virtually all other milk buyers for liquid processing as a hold for March

Happy New Year to you all Although it probably seems like a distant memory I hope you all enjoyed some quality time with your families over the Christmas period

I am certainly glad to see the end of the long period of wet weather we have been enduring in Somerset since October, and we are currently enjoying a crisp dry spell