A COMBINATION of sun and rain has forced the grass into a last flush of growth. As a result many of the lambs and sheep need their rear ends cleaning up, dagging out the clumps of green muck that is such an intoxicating invitation to flies.

We no longer dip the sheep to protect them against blowflies. Instead, they all have a pour-on mixture along their backs that works through their fleece and repels any blowfly infestation. The sheep's best protection, however, is a vigilant shepherd. One of the lambs this morning revealed an active maggot population near its tail end when the dirty wool was clipped away. In this case the pour-on was too late.

"Fetch me that bucket of disinfectant from the back of the Land Rover," John asked, and whilst he held the lamb upside down, I poured sufficient disinfectant over the lamb's bottom to deter the most persistent of flies, and to clean up any infection present.

Nell, the sheepdog, and I had fetched the sheep up from a field where they are grazing with the suckler herd. John was sorting out the gates on the corral and making sure that the sheep had a run through into another field once they had been dealt with.

"Make sure you keep the cattle back," I was told, and it was only once I was in amongst the suckler herd that I realised that the new bull was out of quarantine and in amongst the cows. To my mind, he took an inordinate interest in one woman and her dog and I was very relieved when, after studying me for ten minutes or so, he put his head down again and started grazing.

I noticed that he had an attentive crowd of cows around him and was grateful that either they, or the demands of his four stomachs, kept him from any thoughts of pursuit.

Whilst worming the sheep, John was also checking to see if any of the lambs were fit to send to the abattoir. Those ready were not wormed or treated with pour-on, as there are restrictions on these applications when stock is going to the abattoir.

I am tempted to write "to send to market", but that is still impossibility. Although there are ways to send stock directly to the abattoir and cut out the livestock centre, John is still keen to support York as he feels farmers who do not use their services are threatening the survival of an open market system once the foot and mouth crisis has passed. If it ever does.

The weekend rain has put a stop to any combining, although our crop of oats is fit now and ready to go once the weather fines up again. We worked with the sheep this morning in a cold, miserable drizzle that reduced the dust of the corral to a morass of mud. Three hundred sheep urinating in the enclosure did not help either.

I slipped and slid in the mud of the corral and at one time ended up flat on my back when a lamb made a poorly aimed jump for freedom that collided with my shoulder. I'm still sore. When you add this to the occasional spray of pour-on that landed on me and the gulp of drench I tasted when John was clearing his worming gun, I may be bruised and battered, but no fly or worm will come near me for the rest of the summer.

Updated: 12:16 Thursday, August 16, 2001