JUST as Noah’s Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, so will the receding waters in the Somerset Levels expose all manner of things moved to strange places by the floods.

We have had a much better week for weather and the wind has been our best ally. Nevertheless, the real tragedy begins all over again for those poor people affected.

David Cameron has provided a £10m relief fund to help clear up the mess and more importantly he has promised to address the underlying causes.

There was a fascinating article in the Sunday Telegraph by Christopher Booker showing two photographs of the River Parrett, which is the main drainage channel for the Levels. The first shot was of the river in the 1960s and the next from exactly the same spot taken just before the recent flooding.

According to my ruler the river’s width is about 25 to30 per cent of what it was 50 years ago when our waterways were cleaned properly.

Surely it is not rocket science to accept that the larger channel transports more water than the smaller one.

The article goes on to reveal that it was Labour’s policy between 2005 and 2009 under Elliott Morley that really provided the platform for this disaster.

He directed that flooding in Somerset should be artificially promoted because “wildlife will benefit from increased water levels”; he vetoed a proposal to build a new pumping station; and in a final petulant act the Labour Government gave £8m to restore 10 Somerset flood plains.

I don’t think the past must totally excuse the present regime from blame but Eric Pickles is certainly right that the Environment Agency’s advice should have been questioned more closely.

Last week I asked if anybody had any experience of how long crops could survive under water. I saw Derek Midgley at a farm sale on Saturday and he had always been told that 21 days was the limit.

Interestingly John Sawkill who used to run Kenneth Wilson’s also told me of an incident at Wistow Lordship near Selby where winter wheat had survived three weeks under water, although the following crop was not the best.

ENTITLEMENT TRANSFERS By now we should all know that the new Basic Payment Scheme commences on January 1 and there has been a lot of discussion on transfers of entitlements, which need to be done in the next 12 months.

Our Agricultural Valuers Association have had long discussions with DEFRA and the position has now been clarified as followed:

• April 2 – this is the deadline for the RPA to receive a transfer form for the 2014 SPS claim

• April 3 – October 19 – entitlements can continue to be transferred using the same forms up until midnight on October 19.

• October 20 – mid-January 2015 – there will be no entitlement transfers during this period as the RPA wish to process all existing paperwork to establish who holds what entitlements as at the 31st December.

• Mid-January – April 2015 – the actual date when entitlement transfers can recommence in mid-January has yet to be confirmed by the RPA but the new BPS rules will then apply whereby the transferee will need to be an “active farmer”.

To me the message is clear that we need to get all our transfers done if possible by October 19.

PETER KENDALL RETIRES This week the NFU conference will see the outgoing president Peter Kendall retire after eight years in the job.

He has grown in stature and having listened to him on several occasions, I believe, he has been an outstanding spokesman for our industry.

He is shrewd and non-confrontational but yet has a steely determination to represent our interests to government and the many organisations with whom we deal. During his reign at Agriculture House it is hard to believe that agriculture’s contribution to the UK economy has increased by more than 54 per cent. He will be a hard act to follow and Meurig Raymond the deputy president seems favourite for the election.