Having read what many of the respected forecasters predict for 2011 it is difficult to pick out a clear consensus, but few of them pay much attention to matters rural anyway. As ever, the New Year seems to hold mixed fortunes for us depending on who you listen to.

Cereal prices will favour those of us who produce them, but similarly hurt those who consume them.

For members who let property, there are signs of some strengthening in residential rents; farm rents for arable holdings are on the increase but the same cannot be said as yet for commercial property. We need the long awaited rally so this market can improve and we do not need the added burden of paying UBR on empty commercial property.

Will the dreaded phytophera ramorum ravage more of our woodland? What impact will the cuts in National and Local Government spending have on our businesses and life in rural communities? Will Broadband ever reach those of us in the more remote rural areas? Will rural crime start to diminish? Will interest rates remain at historic lows? Will APR really be scrapped? Is there light at the end of this seemingly gloomy tunnel?

Of course there is! The farming community is resilient and entrepreneurial. Look how our businesses have reacted to the pressures not just since 2008 but for the past 20 years or so. Business in the countryside has had to change and it will continue to do so – we do it well (especially when the planners and other officials let us!).

I expect the wise members will focus on what they do well and work hard to do it that bit better. But at the same time they will cautiously plan for the hoped for recovery so they are ready to capitalise on it when it arrives – and that seems to make sense.