FOR farmers it has been another week of challenging weather. It is time now when we should be doing some land work, such as spreading fertiliser onto growing crops or spreading manure and slurry onto fields due to be ploughed. However, since the freezing weather gave way to a milder conditions, the rain has kept falling. Here on Manor Farm another 44mm of rain has made the already saturated ground even soggier. Our cattle are looking forward to the time when they can be turned out onto grass once again, but it is not growing very much with chilly breezes not too far away.

It has not been ideal weather for lambing currently taking place on Stowell Farm, as once the ewes in the barns have given birth and the newborn lambs are settled with their mothers, they are taken to grass fields. New spring grass is the best form of nutrition for the ewes, which will then produce plenty of good quality milk for the suckling lambs. Most of the ewes give birth to twins, some will only have singles and others multiples, usually triplets and maybe quads, but occasionally even quins, sextuplets or septuplets.

So far the most lambs born on Stowell Farm this season have been quins, but unfortunately one was stillborn. When the lambs are born they are put into individual pens with their mothers for a day or two. This is to make sure the mothers are well and that the lambs are suckling properly. Ewes can only feed two lambs so extra lambs are found foster mothers, which only have one lamb or maybe a stillbirth, but mothering lambs to foster mums is not always easy.

Once a ewe is settled with her lambs and the lambs have been tagged, recorded, marked with a large-coloured number corresponding to the same as that sprayed onto their mother, they can be turned out into a field of grass. Once out it is essential the ewes and lambs are checked frequently to make sure all is well. If a lamb(s) become separated from their mother, using the numbers it is easy to reunite them.

Since lambing has gained momentum I have been charged with cooking lunch for Kevin, Melissa and family, also Marcus and Matt who help them at this busy time, as well as niece Charlotte, who on weekends when she is not working as a vet has also been giving a hand. As cooking is one of my favourite pastimes, I have been very happy to produce filling and warming meals for the hungry workers, such as toad in the hole, a good roast and slow cooked rice or fruit crumble.

One day last week I had a day on Roves Farm, where Margaret, a work colleague, and I were in charge of two classes of school children from Liden Primary and Nursery School, Swindon. Margaret and I were a little worried about the weather at the start of the day, as it was raining and the forecast for the remainder of the day was not good.

However, the rain managed to stop for long enough to enable us to take the children on a tractor ride. We stopped close to some out-wintered Highland cattle, which were sharing their field with a very large Highland bull called Donald. We were also lucky enough to see a mass of frogs spawning in a large flood in one of the fields near a lake.

On Chuggaton Farm, North Devon, where daughter Adele and her husband Steve have a dairy herd, it was a tense week. It was time for another TB test, triggered by a test failure on a neighbouring farm. There previous test was last August, when they had one cow showing an inconclusive result, which was tested clear 60 days later. Fortunately, the test last week was clear. A great relief!

Just to finish this week could I make a plea for all dog walkers to keep control of their dogs when they are near sheep, as they are particularly vulnerable at lambing time. Our vet told me of a recent extremely distressing incident involving two pregnant ewes.