Last of the lambs have been brought indoors for fattening

is to prevent them getting too thin and give them a longer chance to recover while they’re still growing.

I dosed the replacement ewe lambs for fluke and they were also supplemented for trace elements. These will be wintered outdoors. They will probably get another fluke dose in December and some feed buckets will be put with them to give them a supply of extra energy and protein. The buckets are convenient when the ewe lambs will be away from the main flock.

With the recent good dry spell we got a chance to get jobs done that we didn’t get a chance to do this time last year. Some of the land could perhaps be responding better to fertiliser and was inclined to hold surface water, especially in early spring. I asked a local contractor with a sub soiler/pan buster to work on a few fields. It is my first time trying it. It should help quite a bit with drainage in these fields which in turn should give better grass growth, better grass utilisation and better animal performance. I won’t know for sure until next year but the early signs are good.

The manure from the sheds was spread on ground that was grazed tight over the past few weeks. The dung will have the chance to break down over the winter months as these fields will be saved until springtime.

I will gradually start saving fields that have the most shelter, these will suit ewes and lambs in the spring. I aim to have a good supply of grass available for ewes at lambing time with the aim of not feeding any concentrates to the ewes after lambing. Last spring this was the case for a while and then we had no option but to feed concentrates to the ewes as grass supplies began to run tight.

I hope this winter and next spring will be kinder to us as I think all farmers could do with a break after a difficult year.