On Saturday, September 29, Natasha, Annabel and Kevin took part in the Chippenham Young Farmers Club Countryfile Ramble in aid of BBC Children in Need.

The club raised £142 and walked a total of five miles near the village of Colerne. Nationwide rambles were held at the weekend, all in aid of BBC Children in Need.

Back on the farm, Kevin has been vaccinating the ewes and using preventative treatment for flystrike. The ewes were also separated into ‘lots’, in preparation for the arrival of the rams. This is important as there are 15 rams and so Kevin needs to be able to identify come lambing which ram has been mated with which ewe.

The stubble fields have been sprayed off with glyphosate to kill blackgrass, weed and old crop seeds prior to drilling. Potassium and phosphorus have been applied to some fields to bring them up to the correct nutrient levels.

The maize fields have either been cultivated or power-harrowed to create a fine, firm, even seed bed which has been quite successful due to the dry weather. The fields become more difficult to work once the rain arrives!

Kevin took Natasha with him over the weekend to teach her how to plough as she is hoping to take part in the Chippenham Young Farmers ploughing match that will be held on Kevin’s farm on the last weekend of October.

The ploughing and cultivating have now been completed with winter wheat and winter barley now being drilled. Kevin has been doing all the drilling at Manor Farm and on his own farm. We currently have a work experience student, Toby, from Lackham College who has been helping with the arable work, in particular rolling the fields after drilling.

Charlotte returned on one weekend to assist Ian with fly-pouring the dairy cows and Jenny gave the local church group a farm tour, showing them the preparation of the seed bed for the winter wheat. Jenny also took them to see the maize and grass silage clamps and finally the herd being milked to give the finished product.

Natalie is also enjoying her new job, working as an agriculture graduate for ABP – a beef processor who operate a fully integrated food supply chain.