Despite the pandemic, most aspects of the rural year are proceeding as normal - for farmers it’s more about the weather right now than the crisis.

Some welcome rain this week means the grass will start to grow and crops are being planted all over the island.

Malcolm Teare, Great Meadow Farm manager, is self -isolating but continues to oversee this year’s sowing of oats.

As with last year they grow their own organic oats on Great Meadow land but other farmers around the island have also offerred land for non-organic oats.

Malcolm told us: ’We have planted 75 acres at Mount Rule, 130 acres at Oatlands and some on John Corkish’s land at Ronaldsway.

’We’ve also sown more than 70 acres of organic oats at Great Meadow, with more to sow, and 10 acres on recently purchased land on the Ballakaighan Straight which has been in conversion for organic since January.’

The cancellation of the Southern Show, traditionally held at Great Meadow, has given them a bit more acreage: they are not touching the show field itself but the adjacent field where the dog events took place will be sown.

After harvesting all the oats are gathered into a vast silo at Great Meadow to be dried. The organic and non-organic oats must be kept strictly separated.

They are then all sent for milling in the UK.