A HOT, sunny bank holiday weekend soon gave way to much cooler weather once again. After a high here on Manor Farm of 28.5C the temperature soon plummeted, with little sunshine, very chilly breezes and just a damping of rain mid-week. It was, however, time for the in-calf heifers to be moved to a fresh field. We had plenty of help, so the move was very easy and the heifers were soon enjoying their fresh surroundings.

Many farmers have been trying to catch up with delayed field work, cultivating, fertilising, planting and spraying crops at various stages of growth. Here on Manor Farm, Ian has applied the final nitrogen fertiliser dressing to the winter wheat, also the final fungicide onto the winter barley. The crops have grown well recently with the winter barley now well in ear. At last our three forage maize fields have been planted, but producing a reasonable seed bed proved to be very difficult with the contractor having to return on three separate occasions to complete the drilling of all three fields.

We always use a contractor to plant our maize as planting maize seeds requires a specialist drill. In the first field to be planted the rows of germinated maize plants are already showing well.

All the grass has recently produced height and bulk, so during the last week we have been preparing for silage making, if the weather is favourable next week. The tractors have now all been cleaned, serviced and the tall silage sides have been put on the trailers ready for hauling the cut, chopped grass from the fields to the silage clamp.

In order to be able to claim our Basic Farm Payment we have to comply with a number of regulations, one of which is to have an Ecological Focus Area (EFA). The EFA is land on which we carry out agricultural practices that are beneficial for the environment. There are six options, which are fallow, buffer strips, field margins, catch crops, green cover and nitrogen fixing crops. All six options have to be managed in a set way and must use five per cent of our calculated arable land. On Manor Farm we have chosen the fallow option, which means that we leave our EFA without a crop for a season. At one time we could use a herbicide or cultivate to control injurious weeds such as thistles, docks and blackgrass, but now we are only allowed to top the area until July, which will stop seeding. During the week Nathan was given the task of topping our EFA.

On Stowell Farm, Kevin has applied a herbicide, where needed, to his spring barley. He has also given it a dressing of nitrogen (urea) fertiliser with some sulphur. Atmospheric sulphur has declined markedly since air quality has been improved, but growing crops still need sulphur to build yield and achieve grain and oilseed quality. If sulphur is deficient it may also mean that nitrogen may not be fully utilised. Kevin has put some nitrogen fertiliser and fungicide on his winter wheat and has had to apply a herbicide to some of his crops to rid them of broad-leaved weeds.

Melissa's nursery of bottle-fed lambs has recently been reducing, as the older lambs are being weaned. There are a few young lambs still receiving three feeds of milk per day but most are now just eating grass and a concentrate ration. Another group of lambs, grazing Corsham Park with the ewes, have received their first vaccination to protect them against Pasteurella and Clostridial diseases, also wormed at the same time. Their mothers have been given protection against fly-strike, which is when flies lay their eggs in mucky wool and the hatching maggots burrow down to feast on the sheep's flesh.

As a chief steward, I have recently been to the Bath and West Showground for briefings given prior to the Main Show, which runs from May 30 to June 2. I am looking forward to hosting all the live entertainment on the Main Lawn.

Denise Plummer