The wonderful spectacle of the Wellington Monument & District Annual Ploughing match was in full swing at Hornshay Farm, Nynehead this week.  Farmers and hobby farmers turned up from all over the West to take part,  bringing a wide range of vintage and contemporary ploughs to compete in the various classes. Rebecca Pow, who is a rural affairs journalist and also the Prospective Conservative MP for Taunton Deane went to meet the jolly ploughmen.

"I was brought up on a farm and realise that ploughing is a great art and these people are keeping the rural craft alive.  It was exhilarating to see them all at work. The idea of ploughing a good furrow is to turn the soil to aerate it and not to plough to deep and to make a good seedbed in which to plant the next years’ crop."

This autumn has been a good one for once and most farmers have already got next years’ crops safely sown, which is a far cry from the situation last year.