Do you think 2020 is starting to be like 1976 ?

[CPF]

I can remember 1975 being a dry year which started the drought of 1976. Fast forward to 29th of May 2020 in the outback near Stratford-upon-Avon Warwickshire England we are busy Cultivating for vegetables we do have the choice to irrigate , we are still finding moisture about 100mm down but the surface is dry. Back to 1976 when we were cultivating with tractors with not very good cabs also no cabs, dust getting into places You do not want to mention .the luxury Modern cabs today where you can be in a dust bowl and the feeling is great , But mother nature can bring back memories.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

. Climate change.
I will bet £10 that within two months farmers will be winging it's to wet

 

[Derrick Hughes]

,

 

[7610 super q]

Worse. Dad said it was quite wet till mid June '76.

 

[onthehoof]

. Climate change.
I will bet £10 that within two months farmers will be winging it's to wet

Can’t blame it on climate change now there’s no planes flying

 

[puppet]

Worse. Dad said it was quite wet till mid June '76.

Not sure why he remembers that as it followed a dry winter and spring. Records show by end of June was the hottest spell. I was leaving school and remember classes outside in the sun.
Appointed a minister for drought and within a week we were getting soaked in September

 

[Kidds]

How come every time the sun comes out everybody compares it to a warm dry summer we had 44 years ago?
It has been hotter and drier plenty of times since most especially just 2 years ago and in any case why would anybody seek to find a pattern in something as random as the weather.
Here's a top tip, if you have a prolonged wet spell it's a good idea to get irrigation in place because it is going to become very dry. Second top tip, if it is very dry for a long time go and sort your drains out because guess what is coming.

 

[7610 super q]

Well it's dry enough to have turned folks arsey......

 

[DrWazzock]

In 1976 folk were queuing at standpipes in the streets for water. We were saving bath water to flush the toilet and using the well again. By august the cattle were eating bales of straw because the grass in the fields had gone. I can’t remember a year like that since. I can even remember being out on the back causeway with dad watching it rain on the concrete for the first time in months. Everybody was so pleased and relieved.

 

[Chae1]

Well it's dry enough to have turned folks arsey......

I thought everyone was in a better humour with dry weather.

 

[Raider112]

Worse. Dad said it was quite wet till mid June '76.

I don't remember the weather back then but I did hear people talking over the years saying it was unsettled till mid June so maybe different parts of the country. Plenty of time for things to change but we have big problems if it doesn't as it's been settled since mid March this year.

 

[startinghandle]

My late father used to say he preferred a long dry summer to a wet one

 

[Happy]

My late father used to say he preferred a long dry summer to a wet one

Definitely.
Would take a 2018 every time over all the other wet ones we’ve become used to in recent years.

It’s the dry springs rather than summers that have been harming things lately.

 

[Cowmangav]

Not sure why he remembers that as it followed a dry winter and spring. Records show by end of June was the hottest spell. I was leaving school and remember classes outside in the sun.
Appointed a minister for drought and within a week we were getting soaked in September

I was at a friends 21st towards the latter half of June 1976 , and after moaning about the wet weather was told off with " I thought farmers liked rain ! " The party was on quite a nice evening in Prestwick - we were out in the garden a lot , and it was basically dry from then until the end of August. I can remember being at Paisley Friesian sale in September ( Glenfield market and sales were mid month ) when it was coming down in torrents.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Can’t it just be wet on a night and sunny through the day...I mean I don’t ask for much

 

[Yale]

Inadvertently I have changed things subtly by spreading very little fertiliser on grazing and half on silage ground.The sheep have been spread out more and not overstocked.

This means I’ve still got half the fert left in the shed for later use if the rain comes.

I was hoping not to use it.

 

[Drillman]

My advice is fill the corn drier fuel tanks to the brim while it’s cheap.

We’re gonna need them!

 

[7610 super q]

I don't remember the weather back then but I did hear people talking over the years saying it was unsettled till mid June so maybe different parts of the country. Plenty of time for things to change but we have big problems if it doesn't as it's been settled since mid March this year.

This is the problem, different parts of the country have had different amounts of rain. That said, the Met Office just announced it's the driest May on record. Pretty sure April was the same. Also, different soil types. Whilst we had 6 months of non stop rain up till mid March, on free draining red sandstone, reserves disappeared long ago. Rain at the end of June might help grassland ( folks will be baling devils turds in October ), for corn it's already too late.
As for irrigation, if you've got the water, and the equipment already, then it might, just might, pay to irrigate £150/ ton crops. If you've got to spend £100ks on reservoirs / equipment, then it's a non starter. Even plastic tanks to capture rain water off roofs are ridiculously expensive.

Anyhoo, in these parts, it's the longest spell of dry weather at this time of year that I can remember. Possibly on a par with 1984.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Worse. Dad said it was quite wet till mid June '76.

My Birthday is Dec 3rd . Comes after November every year

 

[Exfarmer]

One thing about 76, with a very dry back end 75, we had all crops drilled Very early and this did give them a start. Father went on holiday in January, his instructions were dont start drilling till I get home. We were drilled up
he was not amused but thankful later as at least we did harvest something. Those who waited till March April hrvested very little.
Scotland of course had the rain and the potato growers up there had not just heavy yields but prices up to £400 a tonne. many bought farms off the back of that one year.