APRIL, renowned for spring showers, has so far remained dry. The northerly breezes continue to offer us a break from the drone of traffic on the motorway, which seems to be occurring more frequently as the years go by.

The dry conditions are proving to be good news for our recently turned out cattle, also Stowell Farm lambs, out in the fields with their mums.

The bad news is that suitable seed beds have been difficult to produce, with passes by a number of different cultivators unable to break down the solid lumps of soil.

The cool temperatures have not encouraged more butterflies to take to the wing, but our swallows returned on the 10th of the month, a few days earlier than last year.

All our cattle are now out in the fields by day and night, with the six-month-old heifer calves given a wormer before turnout to protect them against gastrointestinal worms until they can build up their own immunity. They also have access to hay and are being fed some concentrate to ensure they have all the nutrients they need for healthy growth.

Whilst checking all the stock one morning mid-week, Ian noticed that one of the calves looked very unwell, so called Richard to help transport it back to the farm buildings.

Our vet was called and arrived very quickly to examine the young heifer. Following his examination he was not sure what had caused the sudden illness, as apart from looking very ill the calf was showing no other symptoms. He then gave it some appropriate medication and took a blood sample. Unfortunately the calf was unable to recover from its illness and was dead by lunchtime, which was a sad outcome.

I had walked through the field of calves at 4pm the previous day with granddaughter Annabel, with all the animals looking well, so we were shocked to hear the news.

Our spring barley and two fields of maize have now been planted. A third field due to be planted with maize remains fallow, as a suitable seed bed could not be produced.

If the weather changes we may get an opportunity to plant it, otherwise it will have to remain empty for the time being. The variety of spring barley we have sown is called Propino, much favoured for malting, giving excellent yields across all regions.

It has been fully approved for brewing since 2010, so gives growers the chance of a premium here or abroad as it meets all specifications.There has been a surge in the plantings of spring barley as the area of oilseed rape and sugarbeet fall. Spring barley fits well into an arable rotation enabling better weed control using cultivations rather than being so reliant on herbicides, which are becoming less available.

The maize variety we have planted is Rubiera. It is an early maturing variety with high dry matter and starch yields.

A number of other jobs have been completed during the week, including some more fencing, servicing of tractors, mucking out barns following turnout of all the cattle and putting high sides on our trailers in readiness for silage making. Nathan was given the task of cleaning the tractors to be used in silage making. Richard told me that he seemed to be enjoying his task, putting a great shine on them using a variety of products.

On Stowell Farm Kevin, Melissa, Natasha and Annabel have been busy lambing the last of the main flock ewes, recently moved from a barn to a nearby field.

Once they have given birth the ewes and lambs have been taken to Corsham Park, where the new spring grass will help the ewes to produce plenty of milk for their offspring.

Kevin and Melissa also have a creche of 60 lambs, mainly extras from multiple births, which are being bottle fed. Richard and I were on duty one night, giving the family a well earned night off. On finishing the night feed we breathed a sigh of relief. Feeding so many lambs is quite task, especially when we do not do it regularly!