IF THERE is no sign of a weather improvement all the way up the West of Scotland, and that is not taking into account the disastrous situation in Orkney, then we are heading for a repeat of 2012 or maybe 1985, again!

With thousands of acres of grass waiting to be conserved in one form or another, the mainly livestock side of our country is in desperate need of high pressure conditions for at least a month to have both first and now second cut silage cleared from fields that are, in many cases, sodden, with close to double the rainfall of last year.

On Saturday July 4, I set a new record by recording for the first time in more than 30 years, just over an inch of rain in one hour. Usually thunder rain only lasts for a short period, but not this time!

On the July 7, we had had 2.5 inches, so for the third time since the end of April, we pulled cattle back inside rather than causing damage to the young grass swards.

The good news is that we do not need to make any second cut silage, following an excellent first cut, plus what is left from last year, so we have enough silage to last for about 18 months.

Mind you, if this wet weather continues, we may see all the extra bales that were made last year and still sitting on many farms, finding a home in the spring of 2016!

The other piece of good news is the turn-around in prime beef values. No one seems to have an answer as to why we are experiencing this vast volatility in beef returns.

Back at the beginning of the year, stability at around 370-380 pence per kg looked sensible. Then, in the space of a few weeks, we were under 340. Now, in not weeks but days, we are back up to 360-370p with some predictions of £4 not far away, and Angus in spec, already there!

This kind of volatility sure puts budgets and cash flows into the waste paper basket. There is one thing for certain, no one seems to be able to predict what the beef price is going to be in days, weeks or months ahead!

Not even Stuart Ashworth at QMS, who has all the statistics at his finger tips, can forecast such variability!

I did like the story from the North- east about our beef sector the other day, told in a true Aberdonian accent, about a procurement man from MacIntosh-Donald who rang up this beef finishing farmer to see if he had any cattle ready for slaughter.

"Aye", says the farmer, "I might just have a few." So the procurement chappy asks if he could send them in on Thursday for Friday kill? "Oh, I'm sorry", says the farmer, I canna' dae that, sur. There's a three weekie waiting list!!!"

Now, if you thought volatility in beef was bad, spare a thought for some milk producers. If you have a good memory, you may recall me telling the true story about my mother telling us, before the formation of the Milk Boards in 1933, how they sent their milk by train from Balloch to Glasgow and when the dairy had too much milk it was returned to the farm the next day reported as being 'off', and they had to feed it to the pigs. At the demise of the milk boards 20 years ago this month, this column predicted an uncertain future for dairy farmers, and when it was announced that quota, or supply management as I prefer to call it, was to end on March, 2015, I could see a very rough road ahead.

However, never in my wildest nightmares could I have visualised some producers receiving around 7 pence per litre for some of their milk. This past week Graham's The Family Dairy announced that for B milk supply it would be paying half of the AMPE price, which will be around 7 pence.

That, in my book, is no different to my mother's milk being sent back to be fed to pigs pre-1933!

In reality, these dairy farmers with B milk would be better off feeding it to pigs!

Back in March 2014, some milk producers were being paid 34 pence and being encouraged to produce more, and now today they are receiving just 7 pence for some of their milk. How is that for volatility?

So what is the answer? Bring back the milk boards, bring back supply management - but there is no chance. The reality is that if we do not produce less, the pain for some is going to be unbelievable and the nett result will be to exit milk production and do something else.

Yet, there are a few good milk stories around - if you are milking 150 cows, no borrowed money, no labour costs, your buildings are in good shape, you like milking cows in a conventional parlour 7 days-a-week.

It may be a family business, no six weeks holiday (more likely six days) a year, not big spenders, could be on a supermarket milk contract. Perhaps you work 12 hours a day and on call the other 12 for calving and emergences and you do not have aspirations of grandeur so you do not have any complaints. There are people milking cows in all of these situations and are perfectly happy with their lifestyle.

Once again our great Royal Highland Show set attendance records at almost 190,000, which is great news for our national event which now draws farmers in even greater numbers from outwith our shores.

I think the Highland is in the same category in a world context as the DLG in Germany, the Calgary Stampede and the Toronto Winter Fair, all supported by visitors from around the World.

There is so much to see at Ingliston that it has about every conceivable corner occupied. As always, a tremendous show of livestock where one statistic did surprise me, seeing more Jersey cattle than any other dairy breed.

Other aspects that are due special mention was the win by the Highlanders group and the exceptional Aberdeen Angus champion and reserve which were an unbelievable size and scale compared to 20 or 30 years ago. Just keep in mind that the customer wants smaller steaks!!

Now I know many of us like to see the pages of pictures of yester-year in this publication, so here's a challenge for the Editor - show us a page of Highland Show AA.champions from over the past 70 years, just to give us an insight about how the breed has changed.

Young Farmers Club events at the Highland are always a great highlight in the calendar year, and the winning stock-man this year must be one of the youngest, being John Graham from Burnbank.

It is absolutely great that we still have the same enthusiasm for the YFC competitions that I can recall some 60 years ago.

I was pleased to hear about another success story which began from YFC drama competitions and talent shows.

Gavin Paterson,Jnr. was a member of Strathkelvin YFC where his acting and directing was greatly appreciated by the club, and then went on to directing Kirkintilloch Players.

Out of 134 competing companies they were awarded Scottish champions. Last week, they went to London for the national UK final, and not only did they win the competition with 'Her Flightiest Touch', but Gavin was acclaimed British champion director.

Well done for a farm boy and the YFC, and he is still milking cows every day with his brother James, who was also a strong YFC supporter.