AUTUMN has arrived, bringing with it misty mornings, clear cool nights and days of glorious sunshine. On two days during the week I made picnics, taking them to meet Richard who was cultivating, planting and rolling the last field of winter cereals, prior to maize harvest. This field, called 'The Lawn', is about a mile from our house, so I used my bicycle on the tracks at the beginning of the route, before walking across a large grass field where the yearling heifers are still grazing. On both occasions they followed me, gathering in the shade of an old oak tree in the corner of the field, from where they watched us eat our picnic lunches.

In addition to the two varieties of winter barley, we have planted two varieties of winter wheat. One is called J B Diego, which is a popular, versatile feed wheat, grows in all soil types with high yields, has good disease resistance and stiff straw. The other is called Reflection, which is the highest yielding variety, new to the Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) recommended list. It also has good disease resistance, short stiff straw, performs well across all regions of the UK and matures early.

On my walks around the farm during the week the most noticeable creature has been the Crane fly, often called Daddy Longlegs, due to its slender body and long, fragile stilt-like legs. There are 94 different species in the UK, flying up from pasture in great numbers as you walk through the grass. The Common European Crane fly, which is brown in colour, lives for 10 to 15 days during which time it mates and lays its eggs. The larva is known as a 'leather jacket' living in the top layers of soil where it feeds on roots and sometimes leaves. This stunts or kills plants, so the Crane fly can be a pest to farmers and gardeners.

One morning I got up at 6 o'clock, going with Richard to the dairy. Ruth was busy milking the cows and Ian was just going to give the calves their morning milk. I walked to the silage barn where I collected some grass and maize silage to take to a countryside classroom launch event at Castle Cary Primary School. The barn was alive with bird song, the most noticeable being made by a number of wrens which, despite their size, were audible above the others. I also took two maize plants, just about fitting them into the car, as well as samples of crops, some photos of our cows and and other bits and pieces.

At the event there was a vet, an environmentalist, a cheese maker and I was the farmer. Children from Years 5 and 6 were divided into groups so that we could tell them about our subject. There were lots of questions, one being, "do cows die if you don't milk them?"

On Stowell Farm the end has come to a long, drawn-out harvest. The oilseed rape planted a short time ago has germinated and a large area of winter wheat and winter barley has been sown. Kevin has also been grading more lambs for sale.

On Chuggaton Farm the week has been tense, as the herd was tested for TB. Adele phoned this morning to let us know, with great relief, that the test was clear. The interval between tests is not allowed to overrun and, like us, the test always seems to occur when many of the cows are heavily pregnant. Not a good time to upset them!