There's not much change in the weather. It's still warm and humid, but here on Manor Farm the predicted storms amounted to a storm in a teacup. I did, however, hear a few distant rumbles of thunder accompanied by spots of rain, which barely wet the ground.

During the past week it was the turn of the young heifers to be brought in to be treated with a fly repellent. They were then moved to fresh pasture where they are being fed a supplement concentrate ration every morning to ensure they have all the nutrients they need for growth. When they are fed it is also easy to see if any are unwell, as they should all be keen to come for their tasty breakfast and at the same time any mobility problems that may arise can be easily spotted. Checking all the young cattle and dry (not being milked) cows every day is one of the most important things we do.

The spreading of slurry and now solid manure continues as we prepare the first of our stubble fields (fields that have been harvested) for cultivating and planting. The last field of winter barley was fit to harvest the other day and all the large round bales of straw have been gathered in. The winter oilseed rape is almost ready to harvest and we are now waiting for our winter wheat to finish ripening.

The Wiltshire NFU Countryside Day was held recently, kindly hosted by Lackham College.

This is one day in the year when the NFU invites public sector personnel to meet the volunteer farmer representatives on a farm. The purpose of the day is to discuss some of the principal topics that are affecting farming members in the county and gives an opportunity to discover a bit more about the industry.

It was an interesting day with a presentation given about the farm, followed by a farm walk. Ian Revill (assistant principal), Philip Steans (farm manager) and Chris Taylor (a lecturer), then showed us around the farm.

The students at Lackham College are lucky to have a diverse range of enterprises functioning on the farm and are actively involved in its day-to day-running. It has a 140-cow dairy unit, Limousin and Hereford beef cattle, small pig and poultry units, a flock of Llyen sheep, a small herd of Fallow deer and an arable cropping programme. Our tour did not include the wide range of habitats and landscape features to be found on the campus, which benefit wildlife conservation. Hopefully by the end of the day the attendees had a better understanding of the farming industry and the present concerns of Wiltshire farmers.

Our niece Natalie has just completed her placement year, which forms part of her agricultural course at Reading University. Natalie was fortunate to have her placement with the food chain McDonald's, so I thought it would be interesting for you to hear about her experience.