MOST people passing Curry Moor earlier this summer would have been horrified by the ‘floods’.

But optimistic beef farmer Tom Jeanes, who refuses to use the ‘f’ word, is surprisingly optimistic considering the soaking his fields have suffered.

At one stage, the Environment Agency had to pump ten million cubic metres of water off the moors following persistent heavy rain.

Water was deliberately released onto the moors to protect Bridgwater from flooding.

Mr Jeanes, of Lawn Moor Farm, North Curry, said: “It’s a reservoir, not floods, and the reservoir needs to be managed better.

“It would make sense to keep as much water in the River Tone as you can – keep it so the road remains passable and doesn’t damage the grassland so much.

“The river is far smaller than it used to be in the ’60s and ’70s, when it was regularly dredged.

“It hasn’t helped that there’s been so much building in Taunton and more run-off water is going into the Tone.”

Mr Jeanes believes he got off lightly compared to some farmers in the area.

He said: “I wasn’t able to put my cattle on the grass, so I had to sell them instead.

“I’ve started re-seeding one or two fields, although I was stopped by the rain this week.

“I won’t have any cashflow problems so long as I can get the grass growing – older grass is resilient to water but younger grass isn’t.”

Mr Jeanes has yet to evaluate how the weather will affect him financially.

He said: “It’s been soul destroying but farmers, by nature, have a certain amount of optimism.

“In the autumn I’ll buy some more cattle in the expectation the grass will be enough to keep them and fatten them up.”