Still no rain! Unless you count a short burst of drizzle. Temperatures have become a little more comfortable, especially at the end of the last fortnight, when the breezes. turned to come from a more northerly direction. However the forecast is for more of the same, no sign of rain and temperatures rising.

The main work on both Manor and Chiverlins Farm has been harvesting. The combine has been busy gathering winter wheat, oats and peas. I have been told that despite the dry conditions these crops have done well, especially as our land tends to dry out quite quickly as much of its limestone brash.The oats yielded well, with good quality grain. Kevin has sent a sample for analysis, to check whether it will be suitable for milling. If it is, the price will be higher than that paid for animal feed. Whatever the outcome Kevin will sell lorry loads, keeping any part-load remaining to mix into the sheep ration to be fed in the winter. Apparently the yield of oat straw was also exceptional

There is now only about 10 per cent of the total winter wheat acreage left to harvest. The yield of wheat grain was average. Ian has sold three lorry loads and put the rest into our local storage facility, hoping the price will rise. Kevin will sell his, keeping any remaining part load to feed to the sheep later.

Our peas have also been harvested, again yielding very well , about 1.75 tonnes to the acre. A sample of these has been sent for analysis and once again it is hoped they will be fit for human consumption. Full loads will be sold and Kevin will buy any remaining part load from us to once again use in the winter ration for his sheep.

Apart from driving the combine, Kevin has been baling straw, with only the yield of wheat straw being variable across the fields it was grown in. Having hired a contractor to bale a small acreage of square bales, Kevin has used his own baler to make large round bales. Some straw has been sold, that required for the winter has been baled and any surplus chopped and will be incorporated into the soil, providing valuable organic matter. Going forward, soil health is going to be a very important part of environmental schemes.

It doesn't seem very long since the last lambing season but the early lambing ewes have been sorted into groups with a teaser added to each group. Teasers are vasectomised rams, so although not fertile will naturally synchronise the ewes ready for the introduction of the entire fertile rams later on.

I was recently invited to visit Wyke Farms in the heart of Somerset. Wyke Farms has been farmed by generations of the same family for over 160 years, making award winning cheddar cheese. The secret recipe was first used to make delicious cheddar by grandmother Ivy, and the family have remained passionate about making delicious, traditional farmhouse cheddar.

Having recently expanded and modernised their maturation, packing and delivery site, the attendees were taken on a tour, seeing buildings filled with large rectangular wooden boxes of maturing cheddar cheeses. Each block of cheese is wrapped in plastic film before being sealed into the wooden box. The boxes are recycled , lasting for many years. We also saw the blocks of cheese being cut, wrapped and packed for a large variety of outlets, many in the UK, but also for many export destinations from Europe to Australia and the USA. These multiple destinations all require different levels of maturity, also specifying a wide range of flavours and packaging. Unfortunately now there is as much regulation to export to the EU as all other world destinations, so everything takes longer.

We were also taken to Wyke Farms Green Energy Centre. Wyke's 100 per cent Green Initiative has enabled them to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint. The Green Initiative has been made up of two phases, the first to generate green power to run the dairy and the second to supply green gas into the grid. Next week I will tell you how this has been achieved.