A common problem for those of us who farm with watercourses and ditches is water hemlock, writes Hugh Besent, NFU Cymru Montgomeryshire chairman and Machynlleth farmer.

This is highly poisonous, causing animals to die of paralysis within 15 minutes of eating the root. The plant is a biennial with a large root system, often also known as ‘dead man’s fingers’.

For many years we have been trying to clear it and the only way seems to be spot spraying with selective herbicide using a knapsack sprayer.

Less people seem aware of such poisonous plants and noxious weeds.

Public bodies no longer root up and dispose of ragwort that is growing on the side of the road or railway. It is fatal to horses and cattle. Japanese knotweed is spread about when grass verges are cut. Then on a recent television programme which was about moving to the country, the new occupier was so excited at the prospect of farming one small holding in Wales, though all you could see around every field was the Himalayan Balsam, another invader of ditches, rivers and hedgerows which is probably too new to be in the noxious Weeds Act, but definitely a candidate, as it chokes other plants and destroys habitats.

Very worrying also is the reduced reporting of Parliamentary business during the present health crisis.

Parliament has recently debated the Agriculture Bill, and the NFU, through Neil Parish MP, tabled an amendment to it, requiring imported food to be produced to at least the same high standards as we are used to in Britain. Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated. This potentially could allow hormone treated meat and chlorinated chicken to enter our food chain.

Sadly, not one Welsh Conservative MP chose to support the amendments and I do have to ask ‘why’ they did not support the need for standards to be enshrined in UK law?

It is so good to see the growth in buying local, and so hopefully locally produced food. One of our national supermarkets, Morrisons, is making a big effort in supporting British food and farming as demonstrated in their television adverts. Local shop keepers have done the community a great service in delivering and keeping food miles low. But if, and when, we see the other side of this crisis, will people remember this? Or will they be like our respected representatives and be whipped into following the cheapest, fashionable, easiest course?

At the time of writing we are halfway through May, and most unusually, we are having ground frost not far from the Mid Wales coast.

The temperature in Sennybridge – often highlighted on the weather forecast for its notoriously low temperatures – went down to -4.5 degrees, not good for orchards or our runner beans!

Having had such a wet, windy winter, quite a few trees blew down, so now, with dry weather, we have cleared them up and a couple of people have collected logs.