- jobs for August

Pasture

• Test your soil. Knowing its condition is vital whether you use a non-organic or organic fertiliser. If soil quality is low, for example, because you had a long dry spell or drought over summer, pasture plants will find it hard to grow.

• Weeds will begin showing up soon. If you've been feeding out hay you've brought in, either last summer or through winter, it's likely there will be a bed of weed seeds germinating in the next few weeks. Walk through your pasture every week or so and watch for what's sprouting so you can start fighting it early.

Tip: if you are feeding out hay this month, feed it out in one area in a paddock to limit the spread of weed seeds or possibly toxic plants.

• A lot of spring grass may encourage you to consider getting more stock. Think carefully. The ideal stocking rate is approximately 75 percent of what your block can carry in a good year. Leaving leeway makes it easier to adapt if pasture is later affected by drought, or recovering after a hard winter.

Livestock

• If you want to rear calves this spring, it's best to buy direct from a farmer you know and trust. This way, you can be sure the calves have received four days of colostrum, the relevant vaccinations, and good after-birth care (ie, navel's sprayed with iodine). Look for strong, healthylooking calves with clear eyes, a dry navel, and no signs of scouring.

• Check with your vet on vaccination options and timings for soon-to-birth cows, sheep, goats, alpaca, and their offspring at weaning.

• Check all cattle, including calves, for copper deficiency – your vet will need to test for it. Symptoms include a lighter-coloured coat, anaemia, weight loss, scouring, and poor growth rate. Early-born calves may be suffering if their mothers are too.

• Talk to your vet about possible supplementation of iodine and selenium for sheep. Symptoms of iodine-deficiency include a high death rate in newborn lambs. Selenium-deficient soil is relatively common in NZ. Symptoms in adults include ill thrift, diarrhoea, low milk production, low conception rates, white muscle disease. Selenium can be toxic if you dose when it's not required, so check with a vet first.

• Twin or triplet lambs should be checked morning and night to make sure they are getting enough feed. A hollowlooking belly means you will need to bottle-feed extra milk.

• Lactating livestock will be drinking a lot more water than usual. Water and troughs need to be clean and easily available. Place boards or mesh over the top of troughs, leaving a small area open for drinking, to prevent lambs accidentally falling in and drowning.