FOLLOWING a significant dip in air pressure, shown on our barograph over the last week, it is now rising as we head towards the weekend.

The past week has been mainly gloomy and damp, with an often chilly wind accompanied by periods of heavy rain, almost 20mm in all. We also had some noticeable frosts appearing in the evenings mid-week.

The week began with a spur-of-the-moment trip to North Devon. It was a rather miserable day, so after trying to decide what job we ought to tackle next, Richard and I thought that it would be a good idea to visit our daughter Adele and her family on Chuggaton Farm. Unfortunately the weather only became worse the further south we travelled, but a most enjoyable day was spent with our family, the highlight of my day being a walk across the fields with granddaughter Bethany to see a carpet of wild daffodils growing in an area of woodland. The fields on Chuggaton Farm are rather wet at the moment and son-in law Steve is hoping that the fields will soon become dry enough to enable him to turn out the cows.

Here on Manor Farm we have just had another TB test. We are normally on annual testing but this test, which has occurred six months after the last, was triggered due to a breakdown on a contiguous farm. The skin test was done on Tuesday with the results being read three days later. The test involves clipping the hair from two small patches of skin on each animal's neck, then measuring skin thickness before the clipped sites are injected with avian and bovine tuberculin.The results of the test are read three days later, noting any swellings on the injection sites, which may be an indication of infection.

When after three days the test sites on all our cattle were examined, we were found to have one cow showing an inconclusive result. This animal will have to be kept isolated for the next 60 days, after which she will be tested again. The outcome of the test will fortunately not shut us up for the time being.

Other tasks done on Manor Farm have been the clearing of some large stones pulled up during cultivations and engineers have fitted a satellite navigation device into a tractor that will be used to apply fertilisers, sprays and plant crops. This will enable these procedures to be done with far more accuracy.

During the week, Richard and I were stewards for the Field to Fork day, held at the Royal Bath and West Showground.

This is an annual event when local primary schools are invited to the showground to see first-hand where their food comes from.

Inside buildings farmers set up displays enabling the children to see farm animals, crops and machinery. There were cows being milked, wool being spun and eggs from small quail eggs to very large goose eggs being cracked open to reveal the contents to very excited youngsters being given interesting information by the farmers themselves.

There were various breeds of sheep, some adult beef cattle, calves and a Berkshire sow with her six piglets. There was also cheese tasting and butter making, done by giving each child a closed tube of cream and getting them to shake the tubes until the cream turned to butter.

Identifying fruit and vegetables was also of great interest, as was bread-making and butchery.

Everyone really enjoyed the day despite the cold, wet and windy weather outside.

As a main show steward, I have recently been involved in a meeting on the Bath and West Showground to finalise the entertainment scheduled for the Main Lawn during the 2017 show running from May 31 to June 3. The show is a celebration of rural life, with the very best of British agriculture, entertainment, food and drink. I am very much looking forward to the event, which I have stewarded at for the past 15 years.