Mr. Louis McAuley:

Mr. Greene farms easy ground and no one takes his word for it. That is not fair of me.

In our situation, the spring was slow and delayed and one thought it was never going to happen, but then we got a few days. In our system where we are just slotting in some seeds - we particularly sowed a good few beans this year - it took a few dry days and the top of the soil was fine for working. We did not need to go ploughing it down and bringing up wet stuff. We were able to just pop the beans in and close the gate and we have crop with very little fuss. By sticking to that, we now have a crop with which to follow our beans and which will have a benefit down the line.

Autumn was quite tricky with the hurricane. Over winter, crops looked poor and I am sure the neighbours thought we were mad but with every day of growth things are improving. Nature and the soil are starting to pay us back a little for our patience and dedication to the system. It would have been very easy to say it was not going to work and to plough everything, bringing us back to deep tramlines and making it hard to get on the land and this takes courage, bravery and a bit of assistance. We now have the benefit of a few years' experience and, if we get a nice autumn, we should be able to build on that. It is not easy and it takes a lot of nerve. If a farmer has to risk a bit in the early years, it is worth looking at the possibility of encouraging him in some way.