Another hot, sunny week, which ended with 24 hours of rainfall, amounting to 25 mm of much needed water for the parched ground . However the predicted electrical storms did not really happen as here on Manor Farm I only heard one distant clap of thunder.

It has been a very busy week with a variety of jobs completed, very much helped by the good weather. Our Ecological Focus Area (EFA ) which consisted of two varieties of clover, a nitrogen fixing crop, was cut and made into haylage. The EFA has to equate to 5% of a farm's arable area and there are 7 options to chose from which are designed to be beneficial for climate and environment to improve biodiversity. our field of clover was planted last autumn and could not be grazed or cut during the flowering months of May and June.

During the week our combine harvester was put to work, gathering the grain from our winter barley and was completed without any breakdowns. The grain has all been sold and several loads were delivered by us to two locations . In order for the agreed price per tonne to be paid the moisture content has to be below 15%, our loads had an average of 14% . There is also a requirement for the bushel weight. This is now measured in Kg per Hectolitre and is a unit of volume based on a measure of dry capacity. This year the bushel weight of our winter barley was not quite so good as last year, but fortunately still just above the required minimum level, so no deductions were made. The long spell of dry weather was the cause of the low bushel weight, as the grain did not mature so well. We believe the yield will be reasonable for our land but until all the loads have been delivered and weighed we will not know for sure.

Kevin has bought some of the barley straw, baling it into large round bales. The straw he did not want has been baled for us by a contractor who has a baler that produces large square bales. As we no longer have the dairy cows, we do not know exactly how much straw we will need. If we find we have too much it will be easier to sell large square bales, which stack and transport better .

Sometime ago Kevin's ram lambs (yearlings ) were graded by someone from the Llyen Society. Only the best ram lambs were registered after checking their overall conformation, teeth, testicles, legs and feet. Their joints also need to be strong and they should have no brown marks. Recently two of the non-registered ram lambs were vasectomised to enable them to be used as teasers. Vasectomised rams are useful in helping to tighten up the lambing periods. Rams and ewes are seasonal in their breeding activity, with the ram's libido naturally falling in the summer, then increasing in the autumn as their testosterone levels rise. Teasers cause the ewes to cycle, bringing them into season at the same time, so they need to be fit and healthy.

Another job done by Kevin during the past week was some topping. Many farmers regularly top their pastures during the growing season as part of good management. Topping removes tall, rough grasses and invasive weeds such as thistles, docks and nettles, helping to maintain a good sward for grazing. Kevin topped the park where most of the sheep graze during the summer and was particularly keen to top any thistles that were scattered across the fields, removing the flowering heads before the seeds could develop and spread further.