You only have to talk to a neighbour or colleague, scan social media or read our brilliant In Your Field writers' columns over the past few weeks to get a sense of the frustration felt by farmers right now.
Defra Secretary Steve Barclay would have been in no doubt about the seriousness of the situation facing agriculture and the desperation felt by many when he appeared in front of NFU Council members this week.
While the Secretary of State's visit to Stoneleigh was a shrewd political play as the Conservatives turn up the dial in their bid to win the rural vote, it does show a willingness to listen and, hopefully, to offer some meaningful support. He is the first Secretary of State to attend the quarterly meeting in many years.
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As NFU president Tom Bradshaw will have articulated in his private discussions with Mr Barclay, the industry needs cashflow solutions, not only now but to last the next 12 months. While stemming the phase-out of Basic Payments, or at least paying out a proportion early as done in previous years, would be an obvious solution, this is not something that can be done every time an exceptional weather event or food security crisis occurs.
There are levers the Government can pull in times of disaster, similar to the European Union's crisis reserve fund, and perhaps now is the time for it to put in place structural financial mechanisms which can stand ready to give the industry a shot in the arm in times of need.
Despite farming's shocker of a season being illustrated across national media almost daily, the paradox of high beef, lamb and land prices, alongside farmers' concerns about the future of the industry, is almost unprecedented. From the outside, it seems almost incomprehensible, but for those living it, they need a lifeline, and they are looking to the Government to act.
With Labour snapping at the Conservatives' heels, now is an opportune moment for them to show up to the table with a solution. As the risk of empty shelves becomes more of a reality and with all political parties nodding to the importance of food security, surely now is the time for the Government to put its money where its mouth is.
