The parched August has sharpened the focus on drought-proofing measures at Eves Hill Farm near Reepham - the subject of our monthly "year in the life of a Norfolk farm" features
After drought was formally declared across East Anglia earlier this month, the rain at the end of August was gratefully received by the region's farmers.
But the deluge was not equally shared.
When Jeremy Buxton sank a spade into the ground at Eves Hill Farm near Reepham on Thursday, he found that his meagre 8mm of rainfall had only penetrated three-quarters of an inch (19mm) into his bone-dry soil.
It has left him "in limbo" over when to risk planting valuable seeds for his next crops, after the completion of a harvest which, considering the weather, has given him a better-than-expected haul of wheat and barley.
Meanwhile, food for his livestock is also a concern, with painfully little growing in the dry, brown grassland fields.
But, even in these conditions, Mr Buxton's beef cattle still have access to lush greenery in the herbal leys. These soil-improving temporary pastures are sown with a range of deep-rooting plants which cope better in dry weather.
"One of the purposes of the herbal leys is drought resistance," he said.
"Because of the diversity of plant species there, and the rooting depths of those plants, they are going to be able to tolerate drought a lot better than a single-species grass sward.
"Grasses are very shallow-rooting plants by their very nature, so they are going to struggle in a drought, whereas these multi-species herbal leys have these great attributes."
Mr Buxton said the herbal leys are carefully managed to ensure periods of rest and re-growth after grazing. And the drought has spurred him to seek ways to import the benefits of these plants into his permanent grass pastures.
"We are taking this opportunity, where the grass is dying off and not growing back, to graze it hard and then introduce these herbal leys into these grass pastures," he said. "We are stitching in other plants that give that extra body and biomass and extra feeding ability for the cattle.
"We are always trying to take these challenges and do something positive from it.
"We see it raining on our neighbours, and we wish it was raining on us. But our time will come.
"This is just farming. It is no use getting down about it all because this is Mother Nature and it is totally out of our hands - we just have to make the best of it, and look for opportunities where we can."
Water-saving investment
The farm is also seeking opportunities to capture whatever rain does fall, by investing in a rainwater harvesting system.
Mr Buxton said: "These droughts are going to become more and more frequent so it has set the mind thinking: How can we use and save water better in the future?
"When it does rain we need to grab hold of that water, harvest it, store it, and use it in times of drought.
"We have applied for capital grants to install rainwater harvesting equipment, new guttering and big storage containers on all of our barns, so all of that water that flows off the barn can be captured and saved for a dry day.
"I also want to make the point that it is all very well spending millions of pounds on reservoirs but if your soil is not in good condition, it is not a solution.
"We are a regenerative farm and with the plants and the crops we grow, this year has proved they can survive on very little rain. If we can improve our soils so the water can infiltrate deeper so it is there in times of drought, then that is the solution."
Summer tourism boost
While the drought and heatwave has brought its challenges to the farm, it has also delivered a welcome upside to its tourism and retail activities.
"Thankfully we are a diversified farming business so, while there are challenges on the farming side of the business, our tourism side has really seen an upturn in the latter half of summer," said Mr Buxton.
"August has been a great month for camping and glamping, and another knock-on effect of all this fine weather is that people are eating outside more, people are barbecuing, so our beef sales have rocketed.
"We are selling more steaks, burgers of our grass-fed beef than we would have if it was wet and rainy. We have had a really busy August in terms of beef sales."
Mr Buxton said the influx of campers and beef customers in the summer also brought social benefits to a traditionally isolated profession.
"You know, I'm a talker, so I love meeting people and I really enjoy people coming to the farm," he said.
"Year on year, we have regular customers who have become friends and return to us time and time again and have seen the farm change over the years and they have got to know us and our family.
"It makes you appreciate what you do, and they appreciate what you do as a farmer because they see first hand the hard work that goes into producing food. Every week someone is saying they didn't know it was this hard work, living on a farm, being a farmer."
Helping seeds to succeed
While waiting for rain, Mr Buxton has busied himself by giving his cover crop seeds the best chance of success when the time finally comes to plant them.
The seeds have been given a dressing of home-made compost, using a cement mixture which he likened to a "witches cauldron".
"This week has been all about seed nutrition," he said.
"We've got our very high-quality compost sieved out, down to a very fine aggregate, like a potting compost that we have made ourselves.
"We use a cement mixer and some water and we make a slurry with the consistency of pancake batter. We put seeds in the cement mixer and a quantity of this compost slurry in with a bit of milk and molasses to help it as a sticking agent.
"Then we mix it all up and pour it out on a tarp and spread it out to let it dry and then we put it in a big bag and it is ready for drilling [sowing]."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here