Neil is tired of being Tom’s dogsbody; he quits and doesn’t intend to go back.

Radio Times: Neil makes a rash decision.

Characters: Bert, David, Joe, Neil, Pat, Susan, Tom

• Tom gives Neil a hard time about having called Alistair to the pigs. He claims it was just a type of cold, and their natural immunity cleared it up. Neil thinks differently, and reminds Tom that he was appointed as manager, and in Tom’s absence he had to make a managerial decision. But Neil feels that he’s not so much a manager, more a dogsbody. He’s had enough, and Tom will just have to manage without him
• Both Bert and Joe have heard about David’s experiences at the Parish Council meeting, but assure him of their full support. In Joe’s case it has more to do with the fact that he wants to borrow David’s loader so he can shift some bales. Not very enthusiastically, David agrees to come over later. When he does, a grateful Joe agrees that he should clear more of their junk, but he will need David’s tractor and a helping hand from Bert to do it.
• Tom gets a full-scale telling-off from Pat about the way he has treated Neil. She tells him that he thinks he knows more than Neil and Alistair. He’s lost the best stockman he’ll ever get. At this point Susan arrives for work, and wants to go straight home to talk to Neil, but Tom refuses to give her time off.
• In the absence of an apology from Tom, Neil refuses to change his mind about walking out on him. Since Debbie left, there’s plenty of work going at Home Farm. Susan is worried Tom might cancel his order for Neil’s weaners, but Neil is sure he won’t; he needs supplies too badly. So Neil is definitely not going back.