WANTED - Farmers extreme weather experiences

[bethanymillie11]

Living in rural Cheshire and being from a farming family, I decided that I wanted to research farmers experiences of extreme weather events for my University dissertation. In order to do this I am needing as many respondents as possible to take 10-15 minutes to answer my short survey regarding your experiences of extreme weather, whether you are severely impacted or not really felt it, your responses are valuable to me. If you live in Cheshire or the surrounding area please take the time to complete my survey I would really appreciate it! Thank you.

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chester.onlinesurveys.ac.uk

 

[Farmer Roy]

 

[Highland Mule]

I worked in Cheshire for a few years - in 2010-ish there was a fall of about 4" snow just after the new year. The whole area around Warrington ground to a halt for the week - it was quite pathetic to see how ill prepared they were for what I classed as normal weather, and yet the locals classed as 'extreme'. The roads were filled with abandoned cars on semi-slick low profile tyres, shops sold out of screen wash, offices were shut etc. One lad took an hour to dig out his driveway so he could take the car to work and yet he only lived a mile from the office we were in.

Perhaps it would help those who are filling in the survey if Bethany could define what she calls "extreme". At a guess, perhaps a fortnight without rain, temperatures dropping below -5C or above 25C, winds gusting above 80mph.

 

[bethanymillie11]

Thank you for your comments. The experience of extreme weather in this case is subjective and so dependant on whether the respondent deems it extreme or not will therefore inform their response.

 

[Bury the Trash]

I worked in Cheshire for a few years - in 2010-ish there was a fall of about 4" snow just after the new year. The whole area around Warrington ground to a halt for the week - it was quite pathetic to see how ill prepared they were for what I classed as normal weather, and yet the locals classed as 'extreme'. The roads were filled with abandoned cars on semi-slick low profile tyres, shops sold out of screen wash, offices were shut etc. One lad took an hour to dig out his driveway so he could take the car to work and yet he only lived a mile from the office we were in.

Perhaps it would help those who are filling in the survey if Bethany could define what she calls "extreme". At a guess, perhaps a fortnight without rain, temperatures dropping below -5C or above 25C, winds gusting above 80mph.

A quick glance at the survey shows that gives chance as to whether the respondent classes any weather they have experienced to be extreme.
Perhaps 'out of the usual' or 'getting more unpredictable ' would be better way of describing it .

Whatever, its asking those from Cheshire not Scotland or Australia,they presumably would have their own survey, , others could then post on them with impertinent comments and 'likes' ?

but well i guess that might not go down too well . and i also guess thats what one might have to expect on social media.

 

[DrDunc]

Extreme weather?

In Cheshire????

????

 

[bethanymillie11]

Exactly the point of the research... I am not here saying there is extreme weather in Cheshire, I am trying to gather farmers experiences on whether they believe they have experienced it or not and if they haven’t well that is exactly the type of data I am looking for. If you have some opinions and experiences on this then please do put them in to my survey and do something useful ?

 

[Hooby Farmer]

Rivers Agency have given me excuse after excuse about not dredging the river, maintenance of sluice gates etc. I have it in several emails of them explaining to me how we are not a flood risk. Had to send them the below picture to their social media page to get my point across explaining after many phonecalls and emails nothing has been done.

Their reply on social media was please emails us! Waste of time.

 

[Highland Mule]

Extreme weather?

In Cheshire????

????

Feels a little bit disrespectful, doesn't it? We have had Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire under water this year, Somerset in previous. We have our member for NSW experiencing a multi year drought and yet some are referring to the weather in Cheshire as extreme.

 

[Shughie McFee]

we are all experiencing bad weather. some more than others. there will be farmers in cheshire that won't have planted crops this autumn which will result in the same empty bank account come harvest as those who got a drought down under.

 

[Kidds]

I don’t know why you think you can’t have extreme weather in Cheshire. Is it because you think you have the monopoly on it or to make yourselves feel better about your choice to live somewhere inhospitable.

Had hailstones bigger than golf balls here once, killed a few folk. Is that extreme enough or would you prefer a bit more death and destruction?

 

[Highland Mule]

I don’t know why you think you can’t have extreme weather in Cheshire. Is it because you think you have the monopoly on it or to make yourselves feel better about your choice to live somewhere inhospitable.

Had hailstones bigger than golf balls here once, killed a few folk. Is that extreme enough or would you prefer a bit more death and destruction?

Lived in Cheshire (Haydock and then Chester) for over six years, so I was speaking from a position of some knowledge (albeit I didn't see the giant hailstones). The survey starts by asking about extreme weather over the last two years and, whilst I've been away for a while, Cheshire hasn't had the trauma that other parts have in that period, which is why I wrote what I did.

I would never call the weather in this part of the Highlands extreme, not compared to what many experience.

 

[Dry Rot]

I worked in Cheshire for a few years - in 2010-ish there was a fall of about 4" snow just after the new year. The whole area around Warrington ground to a halt for the week - it was quite pathetic to see how ill prepared they were for what I classed as normal weather, and yet the locals classed as 'extreme'. The roads were filled with abandoned cars on semi-slick low profile tyres, shops sold out of screen wash, offices were shut etc. One lad took an hour to dig out his driveway so he could take the car to work and yet he only lived a mile from the office we were in.

Perhaps it would help those who are filling in the survey if Bethany could define what she calls "extreme". At a guess, perhaps a fortnight without rain, temperatures dropping below -5C or above 25C, winds gusting above 80mph.

To give the Cheshirites their due, snow/ice at or near freezing is a damned site more slippery than the same at ten degrees below! That's because any pressure turns the ice to water and if there is a film of water, you get aquaplaning. Oil is used to the same effect on machinery. In the Highlands, it is quite possible (and usual at my former address) to drive at 40mph on hard packed and frozen snow.

I now live near sea level in the Highlands (and further north than before) and have experienced the wailing and gnashing of teeth at two inches of snow. I was laughing about this with another who also used to live Upper Banffshire. He related being snowed in (as I was at that time) and finally being able to get to the nearest village to stock up. But hearing a repeated thud-thud-thud from the Land Rover, he stopped to check the transmission. The noise was coming from the tyres successively hitting the tops of posts in a fence line just below snow level which was 26 inches on level ground. That year I cut the tops of posts to a deer fence by holding the chain saw at waist level! We survived.

 

[Dry Rot]

Just seen this which rules me out!

Why have I been chosen?

You have been chosen because you work in the agricultural sector and live in Cheshire.
​

I don't. Obviously!

 

[bobk]

Lived in Cheshire (Haydock and then Chester) for over six years, so I was speaking from a position of some knowledge (albeit I didn't see the giant hailstones). The survey starts by asking about extreme weather over the last two years and, whilst I've been away for a while, Cheshire hasn't had the trauma that other parts have in that period, which is why I wrote what I did.

I would never call the weather in this part of the Highlands extreme, not compared to what many experience.

It's all relative , Cheshire and Staffordshire are the logistical hubs of the UK , any amount of disruption is magnified 50 fold ;

It's a busy old place .

 

[Kidds]

I have been growing apples in Cheshire for over 40 years. Last year it was so hot and dry that my trees were regularly wilted. I have never ever seen them do that before. As a result of that stress this years crop is about 25% of what it usually is.
I consider that to be extreme, not as extreme as many other places in the world but still extreme. I think Nantwich and beyond had it even worse, parts of the country over there looked like they had been spraying Roundup out of a helicopter it was so brown.
We have now gone back to much more normal rainfall but it is still surprisingly dry below the surface.

 

[Kidds]

Also know of a couple of tornadoes, are they extreme enough to count?
One was about 5 years ago and I witnessed that one, or more to the point heard it. Wasn’t really anything to see but the noise was incredible. At the far end of the field the tall Lombardy poplar trees were nearly snapping off, where I was it was calm.
Not sure where it started but it turned over at least one car on the Harthill road, left a trail of broken trees from there towards Tarvin, took some trees down on the A51 by Okells nurseries, through my place at Duddon, over Priors Hayes golf course, twisted off a few more trees on the Oscroft Road, over Tarvin Sands and up to Bluebell Wood at the back of Kelsall. Twisted off a few oak trees at my sons place while his missus lay on the floor of their static absolutely terrified. Took down a few massive trees at one of our farms just down the road and did more damage where Perimeter farms was on the back of the Yeld. What’s that, about 10 miles?
The other one was at Mobberley last year, didn’t see it but can’t think of any other way the branches could have been twisted off like they were. The branches are mostly still there if you want to look. Go through Knutsford, head for mobberley and take the left turn to Mobberley station, look at the trees along that road. They came down around about June last year.
Extreme enough or still not enough death?

 

[Bury the Trash]

if we get 2 or 3 long dry seasons,and deep down, trees and hedges will begin toreally suffer / show lack of tolerance long term ir.
will be a different landscape then

 

[bobk]

if we get 2 or 3 long dry seasons,and deep down, trees and hedges will begin toreally suffer / show lack of tolerance long term ir.
will be a different landscape then

We'll be fine then , as we only get 1 dry year in 30 .

 

[Kidds]

I googled “tornado in Mobberley” and there was one, 21 July last year.
A witness quoted “Mr Kevill, who works in the creative industries, said: ‘We were in the pub over the road and heard some pretty abnormal gusts. The pub rumbled and we ran outside to see what it was. ‘The road was pitch black and it was really dark. When the gusts passed, a tree ripped up and fell over into a field of llamas.’

A tree ripped up and dumped into a field of llamas! It doesn’t really get any more extreme than that does it?