Scottish famers managed to get ahead with harvest early after (whisper it if Ms Sturgeon is nearby) the wonders of what they called an English summer that meant reduced costs because the temperatures produced grain that required less, or even no, time in fuel-guzzling driers.

Some Scottish grain producers were cleaning down their combines for storage by the end of August instead of mid-September although nearer the Borders they were still hard at work. Contrast their warm and balmy days with the wet and dismal English summer that was colder than usual, leading to poorer quality and wetter grain that spent more time going through the drier, driving up costs as it did so.

Apart from the prices they would receive, there was another problem for many grain producers to ponder.

In the UK, arable crops have to meet exceedingly high standards or they will not be accepted by mills for processing. Imagine the consternation over their Shredded Wheat as farmers saw that their heavily scrutinised product was happily being mixed with imported grain of what they perceive to be lesser quality at the feed mills.

The grouse is that UK farmers face far higher costs to produce grain than foreign farmers, who often just have to self-certify that their produce has been grown using only approved pesticides and fertilisers in the correct amounts. In the UK, organisations such as Red Tractor have to test the processes and see the records and the farmers have to pay. What, they ask, are they paying for apart from making themselves less cost competitive when they see their high quality grain mixed with produce from abroad grown using substances that are banned here? You have to wonder if they have a point.

Of course, food standards are coming under ever-greater scrutiny as the UK seeks trade deals now it is outside the EU. The deal with Australia has already been under the microscope because it sets a precedent for other deals, such as one with the United States where processes are allowed that are banned here. Negotiations are also ongoing with New Zealand as I write and farmers are likely to be enraged again over a zero tariffs deal when you look at the environmental costs since farm subsidies were abruptly withdrawn in NZ during the 80s and just about anything that could be done to raise outputs was done in order to keep farms viable.

As subsidies disappear in the UK over the next few years via a diminishing scale of support, environmental standards are likely to get tougher with water quality in our rivers a major concern. In NZ, some formerly popular swimming spots are now so contaminated it’s too dangerous to get in the water.

Here in the south, the concerns over water quality have led to a virtual ban on housing development in some areas and farms are being taken out of production in order to mitigate the effects of their contribution to waterway pollution. In exchange, developers can then build more homes so it’s a win-win for the Government, with an environmental gain in the countryside and more homes to meet targets. But the pollution levels potentially remain the same, just from a different source. It will take real genius to sort that one out!

Kevin Prince has wide experience of farming and rural business in Hampshire, where he lives near Andover, and across southern England as a director in the Adkin consultancy. His family also run a diversified farm with commercial lets, holiday cottages and 800 arable acres.