The first week in June we hosted our "Meet your Local Business" for our local villagers. We are one of several businesses within Fulbeck to have an Open Evening to enable the good folk of Fulbeck to see how we farm; produce our award winning rapeseed oil; the walled garden vineyard and the self-catering cottage on the farm - which locals can book for a few nights if they have family or friends wishing to stay near them. The villagers were also the first people to try a sample of our very latest wine and that night they tried a crisp summer drinking white. Details of how you can buy our first wines will be posted on the Homepage shortly.

The crops continue to look well, although we have had to keep a check on the weeds that have grown with all the warm weather. The late frost in April which caused some damage to the early buds on the grapevines thankfully came just before the majority fully opened. A worrying time, but all is well now, and with Ben mowing and tidying up the rows of vines, everything is looking splendid. The rain we had this week is much needed on the farm, to help all the plants grow and the grains swell, but we don't want too much moist warm weather to encourage moulds and diseases in all crops.

We shall begin harvesting this year's crops of winter barley by the third week of July, followed by our rapeseed (for our oil) and finally the main crop, our winter wheat. Sons, Tom and Jim will be very busy with the straw - baling and loading the many lorries which travel from Wales to buy our quality barley and wheat straw. All the staff are well rested in preparation for the long hours of harvest and as we speak are preparing the grain stores for the harvested crops and giving all the machinery a thorough service.

We have also been preparing for our "Annual WI Visit". We have two WI groups visiting us this year as well as an Engineering Society. As a busy working farm, we can only fit in so many visits a year but they always prove very popular. Visitors are treated to a tour of the "Oil Pressing Shed" and everything made by me for lunch is made with our rapeseed oil - I make all sorts of things from breads, mayonnaise, cakes, pastries to dips and biscuits. Recipe ideas are provided with a chance to buy our oil directly from us.

Next month I'll update you on how the 2014 is going.