Following the torrential rain in the storm last week the weather has been somewhat quieter, with a mixture of sunshine and cloud, and the occasional shower.

Fortunately the soaking on the Thursday evening was not enough to affect ground conditions at Foxham, which held its annual horse show last Saturday. I spent an enjoyable day judging working hunter ponies and horses.

Here on Manor we continue to dry off the milking cows, so they can begin their annual holiday.

They are dried off two months prior to calving, spending about five weeks at pasture, after which time they are brought back to the barn, where they will be given a more nutritious feed ration and kept a close eye on.

The number of heifer calves born this autumn numbered 13 at the beginning of the week. These calves are kept in individual pens next to each other while they are being given milk, which is for the first five to six weeks.

Once they are eating enough solid food they will be weaned and grouped together. Keeping them in individual pens for the first few weeks allows us to see if they are eating and drinking their milk properly. It also means that it is easier to monitor their health, dealing quickly with any problems that may arise.

Cultivation and planting is still continuing, with the majority of the work done. Following ploughing, rotavating and power harrowing where needed, most of our winter barley and winter wheat is now in the ground.

The spring tine cultivator had to be used on two fields following the torrential storm before it could be drilled.

The planted fields have also been rolled using the lighter ring rolls, just to firm the seed bed a little and encourage germination.

The oilseed rape planted on two of our fields by a neighbouring farmer has germinated well, so hopefully growing conditions for all our crops will give us a good harvest next year.

A recently planted grass ley was showing signs of slug damage, so has been treated with a suitable pesticide where needed.

Another pest of tasty young plants is the cranefly. There seem to have been more than usual this autumn, with swarms flying up from under my feet as I walked across our grass fields.

Cranefly larvae like nothing more than a tasty meal of grass roots,with yellowing patches of grass indicating that the larvae, known as leather jackets, may have been feasting there.

The adult craneflies, also known as daddy longlegs, emerge from pupae at the end of the summer, living only for a few weeks, during which time they rarely eat.

Their sole purpose is to breed and the female emerges from the pupa carrying mature eggs, which are laid after fertilisation. The larvae then begin to munch their way through the young roots of fruit, vegetables, cereals and pasture.

On Stowell Farm, the storms brought field work to a temporary halt, but there has been plenty of sheep work. Some ewe lambs for breeding were delivered to a farm near Bath. The remaining ewe lambs were run through a foot bath to treat foot rot. Foot rot occurs when the sole of the hoof becomes damaged, leading to the formation of an ulcer,which can then become infected by bacteria.

The foot bath will kill the bugs and help the feet to harden. Lambs have also been given a booster vaccination and wormed, and a percentage of the entire flock has had a Maedi Visna blood test, which I will tell you more about next week.