VICAR

Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well.

As rural readers will see when they are out and about, there’s plenty to do for arable farming in July. Haymaking and silage collection carries on, with the baling a key component. A square bale is usually used to feed horses, while round bales are typically for cattle. Potatoes will still be in the irrigation process, and will be sprayed with pesticides to prevent the crop being damaged or eaten. July tends to be the start of the combine season for cereal crops like barley and maize, so combine harvesters will be a common sight in the fields and on countryside roads.

This is hard and monotonous work. Some farmers love it but for others they would prefer to be having a barbecue or enjoying time with family now that their children are back from school. Of course, some children get involved in the harvesting while others are too young.

This can be a dangerous time. There are often bale-wrapping or bale falling accidents, as well as equipment accidents. Let us pray for farmers and other workers involved in this mammoth national effort which helps to sustain us all and which we should all appreciate more.

Farming is fuelled by science, but it is rooted in faith.

The threshing places will be full of grain; the pits beside the presses will overflow with wine and olive oil. I will give you back what you lost in the years when swarms of locusts ate your crops. – Joel 2:24-25

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. – Deuteronomy 8:10

God Bless You All this July Sunday. Have a good week to come.

We commit to your protection all our crops and farm industries. We beseech you, to intercede in our behalf with Almighty God, Who rules the seasons, so that our fields being safe from pests and favoured by the weather may yield abundant crops that will allow us to supply the wants of life. Amen