The world is in a mess! Wars, floods, fires, political unrest, hyper-inflation, strikes, traffic chaos, food shortage, starvation and staff shortages in every sector.

Here in the UK, we have a Prime Minister with no credibility. My prediction last month has proved correct and I hope my notion that Liz Truss will be the next person to fill that role, will be right for the country.

It does beg a question? What will her relationship be with Nicola? Hopefully, it will be better, but I am not holding my breath!

At least she has had one wish granted and that was to be rid of Boris – the two seemed to hate each other with a passion! Let’s hope two females in high office will be a good idea for diplomacy.

With politicians on their prolonged holidays, I do not expect anything of substance to come out of the Scottish Office for several weeks. Having said that, the new slurry storage grant scheme came out this week – they are totally inadequate. In fact, almost a waste of time.

This column has reported several times about the benefit of having seven months storage, with our ultimate benefit this year of using no artificial fertiliser at all, only slurry and court dung. It is a challenge, but can be done.

With the Highland Show now in the past, I have to mention that it was the first time I had missed it since Alloa, in 1953. Due to my endeavours to carry 12-stone (97kg) sacks of grain from behind a threshing mill in my teens, I have had to protect my back, which bothers me occasionally!

During Highland Show week, I was crippled to the extent that my right arm lost its mobility. After six weeks of pain, I found a spinal therapist near Perth who, after 10 minutes, gave me relief from back and sciatic pain and my arm is back to 90% normal.

Fortunately, my better half was at the show, so I have several reports, which, I have to say, are mixed. The few negative ones included the attendance figures – no one seemed to think there were as many people as reported.

The next general report was the massive increase in the cost of food and drink, dirty toilets and several stand holders missing. From one member who had been attending for 40 years, the main change was that the people were a lot younger!

On the positive side, everyone seemed to enjoy their time there, and the weather was kind. There were no traffic hold-ups to or from the show and most said they would go back again, especially my five grandkids, though one thought the Royal Welsh was better because it was more orientated to agriculture, no parking fee, and cheaper!

What of the show’s future? It is certainly going to be challenging due to the fact that we are a contracting industry. There must be (and I am guessing here) 25% fewer farmers now than when it became permanent at Ingliston in 1960.

For example, the number of dairy farmers in Scotland in the early 1960s was 8000 and today it is 800. In 1964, when I led the Ayrshire champion into the ring for my father, there were two policemen clearing a gangway through the six deep crowd around the ring to let me in.

This year I believe there were about 30 spectators and only a few more watching the Holstein judging. That is just one example of the changes taking place.

Add to that is the cost for exhibitors, either with stock or as stand holders, the margins in farming today do not allow for any luxuries, such as a week at the Highland Show. The current generation do more business and trading on their phones than with any other method.

It is understandable that in order to survive the Highland will have to rely on the non-farming public, but it needs to support the farming community who have put their hearts into the show too.

How is the livestock sector going to cope with hyper-inflation within agriculture? The answer may be to produce less, but that is likely to happen in any case!

In my lifetime, the only time we were adequately rewarded for what we produce was when food was scarce. Politicians still think, if we do not produce it, they can import whatever the country requires.

That is no longer the case simply because of the cost to ship containers around the world and no longer is there cheap food on the world market, plus the cost of producing it has escalated, similar to here. The days of cheap food are at an end.

The UK supermarket dominance needs to wake up to the reality that this is no longer low-cost food UK. Since World War II all we farmers have done is produce more and more food, with fewer of us growing bigger and bigger in order to become more efficient. Our margins have been consistently eroded to the extent that it is time for change.

Take the dairy sector as an example. Thirteen herds quit in the first six months of this year and there could be more in the second half of 2022, the main reason being that even at 50p/litre there is little or no margin left to justify the hard work, or return on the investment.

I am hearing that one of the 13 sold off his farm at £6000 per acre to plant trees. That farm will never be in food production again, and how many more will be similar?

Why has milk increased to 50p/litre? Simply, the handful of dairy processors see milk production dropping at the fastest rate ever, and not only in the UK but also throughout Europe.

Their greatest worry is that even at 50p, production is still falling. So, what sector will reduce next? It should be beef, if one takes into account the reduction of suckler cows that is taking place.

The reason that is not happening yet is because many dairy cows are being inseminated with either Aberdeen-Angus or British Blue semen.

Plus, there is the fact that supermarkets stopped the euthanasia of dairy-bred bull calves, which is the reason why there is an increased number going through store sale rings and then into the food chain. If it was not for the extra beef from the dairy herd, beef would be like milk – very scarce!

It is beyond my crystal ball to predict what will happen to pigs, and poultry, with cereals at historical high levels. The person most likely to have that answer is my good friend, who has been in the hen game for a long time, Sir John Campbell.

My rainfall statistics show that until the end of July, 2022, 16.5-inches were recorded, and last year it was only 14.75-inches. As far as the last three months, are concerned, five inches were recorded both this year and last year.

Some people are comparing this year with 1976, but in my opinion, it is nothing like 1976. We had absolutely no rain for six weeks. There was hardly any second cut silage, even here in Lanarkshire.

I had our first Keenan feeder and we were feeding the cows out on parched fields. I went with a friend from Cumbria, to see Ben Cooper’s Normead Herd, in Wiltshire, to see his first cross Holsteins out of Friesian cows, and from Carlisle south, it was like a desert with no green fields whatsoever.

This year there have been mixed reports regarding the dryness. Here at home, we have plenty of grass and certainly an abundance of silage.

On my annual trip up to Dingwall Anniversary Sale, the countryside could not have looked any more splendid for this time of year with plenty of green fields and good crops, both north and south of the picturesque hill country.

Compared with 15 years ago when I first went to Dingwall, the majority of the cattle being sold now are much younger, but along with Ayr, it is one of the fastest markets in the country at selling cattle.

Regarding silage, some parts of the country have an abundance and others a bit short, especially on light land which is also short of grazing grass. What does not seem to be short is winter barley yields, plus lots of excellent straw.

I am even hearing of four-tonne plus yields and a value ex farm of £215 at the end of July. Having said that, grain values can fluctuate within hours by large amounts, which makes the rest of this year look like, up corn, down horn!

Hopefully, by the time I put pen to paper next month, I will have seen more of Eastern England and be able to report fully on the situation.