OCTOBER is usually about falling leaves and falling temperatures, but this October has started out with such promise.

Thanks to our unusually fine weather, the drill has dutifully and straightforwardly been following the plough slowly but surely across the fields to sow the seeds.

Having said that, I hope the machine is still going as I found my father in a field under the drill with a hammer this morning.

As the weather starts to get more changeable and unreliable, we will be looking out for our cows, particularly to ensure they do not start poaching productive grassland and, if the weather turns, they will need to be housed. However, housing cattle comes with its own complications.

Cows can become susceptible to pneumonia in autumn due to changing weather conditions, housing conditions and alterations in diet.

Sadly pneumonia is the UK cattle industry’s most expensive disease at an estimated £50 million per year in treatment and causes the death of many animals.

Farmers are advised that buildings must be well-ventilated, but free from draughts at animal level.

They must minimise temperature variation and extremes and avoid damp bedding materials.

This sounds like common sense and practical, but can be hard to maintain when good old British weather fluctuates so frequently. Imagine making beds for 100 children on a daily basis where some can get too hot and some can get too cold.

Despite the past year’s fantastic conditions leading to a ten per cent higher production of milk, dairy farmers are being hit again for milk prices.

According to the farming lobby group Farmers for Action, typical milk prices could drop as low as 23-24p/litre thanks to all four processors announcing cuts at a time when the costs of production exceed 31p/litre. Unfortunately, because of foreign imports and global trade competition, the UK has to be tough on price.

Russia exacerbated the situation in August when it decided to ban Western food imports for a year in retaliation for economic sanctions over the tensions in Ukraine.

Dairy has been hit hard, as the EU exported £1.8bn of milk-based products to Russia in 2013. The European Commission is trying to help but its effectiveness has already been questioned and cannot help the farmers who are facing a further 7p loss on every litre of milk.

On a lighter note it is the time of year to mention our farm’s hardy one-legged seagull. This determined bird has followed my father drilling every year for the past five years. His wobbly attempts to steal seeds results in a crash landing as he can only perform emergency landings on his belly. We salute his efforts and hope to see him next year.

The annual Salisbury and District Agricultural Club Ploughing Match is on Saturday in Great Wishford – good luck to all participants but especially to our tractor driver, Phil.