FARM UPDATE 244. SFI, Boston flood barrier, Hobhole pumping station, Short Ferry floods

[@Bensgarage]

I put out a video a couple of weeks back, on the Lade Bank pumping station a bit further along the Hobhole drain. Engines at Lade-bank are just as impressive and even older (still working). Grew up in Lincolnshire and did plenty of farm work while there. Keep up the good work.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

I’ll take a look. They are a work of art and with so much of Lincs below sea level, we’d be stuffed without them.

[@Bensgarage]

@@WardysWaffleAndrewWard My sisters boyfriend works in there, it's like a working museum. I've been following your videos from afar (France). I worked on a farm at the other end of the Hobhole drain, good land there, we did potatoes and sugarbeet mainly.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

@Bensgarage the soil is bloody good!

[@RG-mk3ds]

You are quite right about river maintenance and drainage being the first priority followed up by flood alleviation as secondary. I fear this is being forgotten by the “experts”.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

The ‘experts’ are forgetting most things where water management is concerned!

[@skisavoie]

Excellent and very interesting update. 100 days of flood, unbelievable, the land is going to be so compressed! The old pumping station, 67 years of service, very impressive. Very much doubt its replacement will last that long? Hopefully the old engines will survive and not go to scrap? Thanks and best wishes, Colin.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

👍😀

[@richardreams6886]

You have now visited Boston a couple of times to see the flood barrier and the lock gates on the end of the witham. Could you do a post on the south forty foot pumping station and how it has been abandoned for a small lock. Our land sits wet in a dry year as it times of heavy rain fall we have to wait on the water getting out this lock. The drain did over top towards Bourne but no one in charge cares. The MP told us they need to spend the money more wisely and then the Hophole pump is going to be replaced

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

We went in there last week. I am going to do something about it because it’s criminal what they’ve done. Decommissioning the pumps is scandalous and I’m sure if they were working this year the flooring would have been less. Trouble is there is a bottle neck at the new barrier and I don’t know if it would cope with more water until the lock is put in at the side of it. I’d be happy to come to yours if you wanted to chat to me on camera?

[@richardreams6886]

@@WardysWaffleAndrewWard yes welcome to come down and show you what we have to deal with. Think the forty foot has to come second in their eyes to make keeping Lincoln dry and any breach in the bank to flood farm land helps to relieve pressure on a 0% maintained system of main waterways.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

@richardreams6886 Great. What’s your postcode please so I can plan as I have another farm using the SFF to visit. If easier email me: [e-mail]

[@peterwilson-qj2ds]

Great update Andrew, lets all hope we soon get some decent weather for the spring drilling to continue.

[@tonymckeage1028]

Great Video Wardy, A great update on the floods, thanks for sharing

[@michaellane9873]

I still can't believe Henry's land has still got all that water on it will never be the same.

[@jonstephens682]

Morning Andrew, cracking update again. I personally don’t feel SFI is the answer really, what you said is a better idea get the ground in good condition and get it all drilled early. Bloody hell there some big pumps and some massive engines. What a nightmare for poor Henry with that water still there he must be pulling his hair out buy now poor chap and the landlord from the pub. Why won’t the EA do anything about it 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Hello Jon, the repair is only temporary apparently. 🤦‍♂️

[@jonstephens682]

@@WardysWaffleAndrewWard so it’ll cost twice as much to repair! That makes perfect sense 😡

[@julianchambers8372]

Brilliant video Andy, thanks

[@davidchalmers4969]

Interesting and realistic review of SFI schemes.

[@davidcollingwood1262]

Excellent update Andrew

[@chrislee2221]

Good morning Andrew, very interesting and informative video, fascinating inside Hobhole pumping station, to me the whole thing is an engineering work of art. Blows my mind to think a rebuild is needed at a budgeted cost of £80 million , i know I am a bit old school and even out of touch with a lot stuff these days but that cost seems a ridiculous amount to me. K eep your chin up Henry a tough long 100days but sure you will get through this and be able to look back on the whole experience.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Cheers Chris, glad you enjoyed it.

[@nigelhales874]

Good morning Andrew Happy Easter Sunday the ground very wet this time last year every thing was a lot better than ...This better than country file onothe said thanks again

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Hello Nigel, better than CF? It’s not difficult!!!

[@robertsmith9810]

PUMPING station the engineering companies in short ferry station all famous BRITISH NAMES how many exist today ?

[@glynluff2595]

If you have time to read borrow from the library or purchase from internet a copy of John Rennie by Peter Cross - Rudkin which in one chapter mentions the history of the drainage of your area.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Thank you. 👍

[@philipgraham6980]

Please can you give us updates on the duck at the pub when her eggs hatch, hope all fourteen eggs hatch . Another very interesting video, the rules around SFI sound quite complicated.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Will do. SFI is quite complicated

[@stuartmason1863]

Yet again brilliant video you must have got a new camera film so clear its good to now David Brown made gearboxes for Big machine s not just tractors happy easter

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

It’s the same phone, an iPhone 14 Pro. I do everything on it including editing.

[@malcolmpalmer8786]

Andrew could you please do a profit and loss showing advantage/ disadvantage of doing sfi.This would show properly how to make a business decision rather than a knee jerk to sfi .i watch every episode 👌👍

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

That would be tricky to do now because I’d have to put a projected yield of a normal crop in and sales price and I having a clue what those will be. I could do something with break even points maybe.

[@charleswillcock3235]

You are a great ambassador for farming keep going with the videos.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Thanks Charles.

[@ady3114]

100 days is beyond belief. Have the EA kept the farm flooded to facilitate the bank repair rather than accessing the riverbank from the river. Putting the farm into SFI with a 25% maximum area I guess this still leaves Henry badly out of pocket, devasting

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Yes they have, I think the river didn’t have enough depth probably due to the silt!

[@bobcrawford2105]

Replacement costs for a new pumping station seems rather high to me Looking around me m18 / m180 junction area still a lot of wet spots in middle of fields that start to dry up then we get rain again to top them back up. 14mm rain in last week

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

12mm here. You don’t get a lot for £1m these days.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

If a badly waterlooged field was planted with vetch or similar, could that fallow period be spent improving drainage on those areas?

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

We would t be able to get on for a few weeks to plant it and I think we couldn’t touch it until its flowered.

[@farmerfuller87]

Did they tell you 3/4 of what they pumped this year was EA water from burst banks of E/A responsibility!!!

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

🤦‍♂️😳🤨

[@farmerfuller87]

They had it full bore for a week and it went up 5 inches at one point. Because of breaches in other areas. I will say witham fourth do an excellent job. On maintaining the waterways and water levels in winter and summer.

[@Turpingreen]

Be careful farmers of the elephant in the room.

[@johnhyde8892]

A great video Andrew, do you think there will be a food shortage this year because of the wet weather.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

A lot depends on the weather but there were quite a few spuds left in the ground rotting so I wouldn’t be surprised.

[@johnhyde8892]

@@WardysWaffleAndrewWard it is going to be very interesting, because here in Cornwall it has rained most days and is a big growing of vegetables area like Lincolnshire.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

@johnhyde8892 Not good at all. It’s a year to forget.

[@thelambshed6875]

Disband the Environment Agency

[@gregrot]

Get rid 9f the Tory Government, properly fund the EA and all the other services which have been starved and hamstrung, for the last 14 years.

[@nickaf5262]

why has everything got too be changing so much

[@stephenclark2058]

How is your godson Henry getting on, hopefully he can sue for everything and mo that he has lost , plus the damage the floods will have created for the future . The flooding for him is an absolute disgrace .

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Not a penny of compensation and to sue the EA would be difficult, they seem untouchable.

[@robdavis5711]

Brilliant update, loads of subject covered… fascinating to see the IDB stations, they have some lovely buildings, architecturally and that station’s machinery looks very well maintained, someone obviously takes a lot of pride in it! David Brown gearbox is basically Aston Martin hardware then! Really interesting to see the flood barrier raising too. Air ambulance is an amazing service, too few people realise that it receives no local/national government or NHS funding, or that in addition to the fact that they run a helicopter they also have road-going paramedics and their medics are also much more highly trained and better equipped than EMAS paramedics, so in addition to being able to reach remote areas and attending farm/equine emergencies they are also able to offer specialist care to casualties. Really interesting to hear more about SFI too…

[@Paws4thot]

"David Brown gearbox is basically Aston Martin hardware then!" Other way around; David Brown Limited made tractors and stationary engines before he bought Aston Martin (and Lagonda).

[@ianatkinson9227]

Well explained about SFI there is a lot of small things you don't realise there are a lot of farmers rushing into it with the wet weather what does it cost to plant these areas .We fatten🐄cattle so where is all the straw going to come from😀

[@johnwarwick4105]

I know where it is going in Lincolnshire, powerststion 😳 Living in a arable area I am Seriously worried about straw this year as I think most livestock farmers should be

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

It could well be seriously short

[@craigdoig9486]

Similar issues in welney due to the road closures due to it flooding Welney wash road

[@timlewis5866]

If you have the chance go and see a Thames Barrier being closed - they have to be most careful when they close it as it can send a shockwave back up the river , one time they got it a bit wrong and HMS Belfast was pitching over 6 Feet bow-stern 🤣

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

😂😂😂🤦‍♂️

[@whathasxgottodowithit3919.]

I would say the cost in 1957 for the pumping station would have been just as scary as the current 80+ million to day. About the same as a G650 business jet if that puts it in to a modern perspective. Very interesting thank you for posting.

[@Shaunalexander.99]

Was waiting yesterday morning at 8 for your video, 830 came and i thought Wardy was late out of bed !!. Then realised it was Saturday not sunday, days are all to cock because of good Friday!!!!!.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

I know, I nearly posted it on Sat until Rhonda stopped me!

[@Shaunalexander.99]

You're farm updates are a good watch Andrew, keep on farming !

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

@Shaunalexander.99 Thanks, the weather makes it tricky at times!

[@Farmerphil500]

That duck tho 🤣👍👍🦆🦆🦆

[@stephenclark2058]

Well , I hope they have the sense to keep and maintain the old pumping station , as a back up for the future , instead of destroying it .

[@johnkeynes8873]

I'd love to come mate just a bit far to travel.😊

[@markyoull6744]

great update andrew hope you get in fields soon

[@richardbaker22]

Great video Andrew keep up the good work

[@Gearoid35]

Great update some pumps there

[@AndyChetwood-j1z]

Hi great video wet wet wet,

[@chrisnichols5208]

Another great video it’s looks like a lot of money being spent around Henry’s farm with better maintenance I guess a lot of this could have been avoided

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Definitely

[@roberthoward3723]

Liked this - the Boston flood barrier very interesting, good coverage. I wonder how long it will be before the nation goes from surplus to shortage?

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Not long!

[@DaveAndrews-d6l]

Another fantastic update Andrew is the water ever going to subside. The EA definitely need to dredge the river and if they do update the pumping station should put one in a museum keep the same updates coming looking at your ground it's going to be a long time drying out incredible year

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Can’t wait to start again this summer.

[@adrianlayen4119]

Another great update Andrew. A good mix of what is going on. Good to see the repairs to the river bank are still going on, I am sure its only 1 of many that are needed. Keep up the good work you are doing with bringing to us. I hope the powers that be are listening. Great to see the duck nesting at the pub, good work they are doing too.

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

There’s 13 banks breached in Lincs alone! 🤦‍♂️

[@ronaldlucas5360]

Almost 15k subscribers!🎉

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

Over now!! 👌👍😀 Thank you!

[@lincslad54]

What make of pumps are in the pump house?

[@WardysWaffleAndrewWard]

I didn’t notice.