A sure sign it's harvest time in Shropshire and Mid Wales
It's that time of year again when farmers bale hay as the summer harvest arrives.
This photo taken by Shropshire Star photographer Jamie Ricketts illustrates the scale of the project at a farm in Much Wenlock.
Meanwhile, farmers were warned today to take precautions against arsonists that pose serious fire threats to their crops and business.
They were urged to take measures to reduce their chances of being victim to a blaze.
The Country Landowners Association has warned that arsonists typically target stacks between July and October, and farmers need to take precautionary measures during harvest and beyond.
It is also calling for a complete ban on the lanterns it describes as "flying bonfires".
Mark Riches, Midlands rural surveyor for the CLA, said: "However started, fires cost farming businesses thousands of pounds – as well as causing huge disruption.
"Deliberate straw stack fires destroy material used in arable and livestock farming as well as threatening buildings, livestock, machinery and lives. While people setting off sky lanterns may have no intent to cause fire, the consequences are the same."
Any information regarding suspicious activity near stacks should be reported by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.
