3.00am
The alarm clock disturbs the deep sleep of the small hours to remind me that I have an appointment with Sky News at Clacton Leisure Centre where the count for the local referendum is taking place.
3.15am
As I drive the four miles to Clacton with daughter Emelia (Milly) we listen to the radio in the car. About 25% of the vote is in and it looks very tight with maybe the Remain camp just in the lead at 51%. Nigel Farage seems to have made some sort of comment conceding defeat. But the political commentators suggest that given what areas of the country have yet to declare then the figures look ominous for the Remain campaign. I say to Milly that I'm glad that I read both the 'Remain' and ‘Leave’ briefs in the NFU media briefing pack. As a very committed Remain vote Milly is getting very alarmed. 'This cannot be happening' she mutters.
3.50am
Having witnessed the Returning Officer declare Clacton a massive 70% OUT with an impressive 75% turnout, I'm interviewed by Gillian Joseph from Sky News. I tell her that while the NFU has stated it is in favour of IN, we are not exactly relaxed about either result as there we will be much work to do in either scenario. Even so, the prospect of an OUT vote definitely makes the heart beat faster. As we leave the Leisure Centre there is a large screen where seemingly endless reports of counts with a 'Leave' majority are coming through. The reaction in the Hall to the possibility of this ground-breaking result is notably subdued - even the UKIPPERs in their purple ties are not celebrating.
4.15am
We get back home to switch on the tele. The direction of travel is clear - the UK is leaving the European Union. As a midsummer dawn breaks over the eastern horizon it's clear this is also new dawn in British history.
5.00am
The BBC Farming Today crew turn up to do some live broadcasts from the farm. They had set up the night before. My front room looks like NASA mission-control.
5.45am
I'm interviewed by Charlotte Smith, (no relation - although she rudely tells people I'm her Uncle). My line of delivery is now about the immediate challenge facing the NFU with the prospect of putting together the first British Agricultural Policy for forty years.
6.00am
Stuart Agnew UKIP MEP turns up at my house to be interviewed by the BBC. Stuart is an old NFU acquaintance who, as Norfolk NFU delegate, sat for many years on NFU council when I was Essex delegate. Although I agreed with Stuart on many things such as GM, his ingrained anti- EU antagonism was often a bit too brazen for my taste. Interestingly Stuart seems somewhat unnerved by the result. I wondered to myself if he preferred being part of an anti-EU minority but now, wasn't so sure of his ground. Despite this Stuart performed with his usual articulate zeal in front of the microphone and came over well.
6.30am
My first and only tweet of the day. Good to see the NFU comms team are up early and already hard at work.
7.00am
I do a couple more live pieces, first for BBC World Service and then for Radio Essex, mindful of the fact I was broadcasting to two very different audiences. From Katmandu to Canvey Island all within five minutes of each other.
8.15am
The BBC crew and my family gather round the tele to hear David Cameron speak live from Downing Street. There is an audible gasp from all of us as he announces his resignation. It was as if we were becoming very unsettled by too much radical change in our lives.
9.30am
Suffolk Farmer Steve Rash and YFC Chair Lindsey Martin turn up to record a longer piece as part of the 'Farming Today This Week’ programme to be broadcast on Radio Four the following day. Along with Charlotte we all sit round a table 'al fresco' on the terrace (or the Pah-eeo as we say in Essex) on what is turning out to be a gloriously sunny June day. With several inches of rain the week before the garden and surrounding farmland is looking a very verdant green in the bright sunshine. We are joined by phone by Alan Bowie, President of the Scottish NFU and Owen Patterson - Chief Tory Brexiteer and ex DEFRA Secretary of State. The mood of the farmers is one of considered concern. By contrast Owen Patterson was his usual brash and breezy self, promising a very bright future for British agriculture. Charlotte Smith kindly gives me the last word on the programme. I express the importance of the NFU listening to its membership while at the same time not missing any opportunity to influence what the new BAP should look like.
11.00am
Having got the BBC packed away into their outside broadcast van, I decided to do what all farmers do when they need to have a good think - I take the Labrador out for a bit of crop walking. The wheat and peas were looking well despite the inches of wet they had recently experienced. As I splashed along in my Wellington boots I thought about the next days and months. It's going to be a time of challenge and uncertainty but what is clear is the fact that the need for a strong and effective NFU will never be greater. We mustn't be cowed by the size of the challenge but rather we must make the most of the opportunities.