Ruth and David have a different view on the future of the dairy herd.

Radio Times: Things seem to be looking up for Tracy, while Brian stands his ground.

Characters: Brian, David, Neil, Ruth, Shula, Tracy

• Brian is having to keep his head down in the village for fear of getting lynched. Shula has heard about the uproar at the Parish Council. Brian is still furious that the story broke without them being able to control it. He wouldn’t mind if the Echo had got it right. Shula is clearly sceptical. Brian tries to suggest it would be good for Alistair’s business but she points out a sole trader could never handle that much work.
• Tracy isn’t having much luck finding work. Neil says there isn’t much around now but she isn’t going to stop trying. Then she gets herself invited to a trip to choose things in the DIY shop. Neil isn’t impressed. And, of course, once they get there, she wants all the pricey stuff. And to top it off, she gets a call from the school in the middle of it to say Gary hasn’t picked up the children and is drunk. So Neil has to take her to fetch them.
• David and Ruth manage to scrape through the Environmental Agency’s examination of their NVZ records but seem to have had a fairly tough letter. Ruth points out it is just their standard letter. Later on they get a letter from the company that provides the slurry tanks. The quote isn’t as bad as they thought – £22k. Ruth is enthusiastic but David is now thinking it might be time to give up on milk. Ruth is adamant that it isn’t that bad yet.
• Discussing the mega dairy with Shula, she isn’t totally against and thinks the Echo report was a bit biased. But on the subject of the slurry lagoon, while Shula thinks Phil would have trusted his judgement on the herd, isn’t anything they could do? David explains all the problems with the badgers and the cost of an above the ground slurry tank. It’s going to cost a fortune if they do it.