Volatile weather demands concrete solutions

WITH the ground now saturated it wasn’t hard to make the decision to house most of the stock.

All that remains outside now are 10 suckler cows with youngish calves. As farmers we can talk all we like about growing grass and extended grazing, but when the weather is so volatile, the concrete infrastructure most farmers have in their farmyard is required.

Either way we had the farm well grazed out so most of

Purchasing silage can be a hit and miss affair as quality can vary hugely and transport costs have to be added in. At least with the meal you know what you are buying and it will be better feeding quality, especially for the younger animals.

Fortunately, hurricane Ophelia did no damage to our farmyard.

But when we can see the damage an event like this can cause, maybe it is a timely reminder that sheds need to be kept in good repair and that road side trees need to be assessed for potential threats to passing traffic.

On the day-to-day jobs, the JCB, our main feeding machine for the winter, needs a good service including oil and filter changed.

We will also put a few new tines on the grab as some of the old ones are loose or have worn short. These few little jobs will make the winter feeding run more smoothly.

In a few weeks I will make a decision on the winter housing programme.

Last year the major problem was lice. This was probably down to the mild winter and early spring.

I have always used a pour on and trimmed the tails of the cattle but this winter I hope to maybe shave a strip off the centre of the animals’ backs.

I intend to spray them instead of using the pour on and maybe treat them again in early January if they start licking or scratching again.

Getting this treatment right is as important as having good quality feed for animals. It just takes a bit of time and planning to get the right product at the right time.

This year we didn’t get a chance to get the suckler cows scanned for a number of reasons.

On observation of the cows in the fields there seems to be no activity even where the bull calves are with the cows, so this is a good sign.

I have a good record of when the cows were bulled and the repeats. The cows will be penned for the winter according to condition score. The thinner ones will get more feed and maybe less bulling in the shed.

On the sheep side, the remaining lambs are all on meal and have been moved to good quality grass in a bid to finish them as soon as possible.

The wet weather over the past two months has not helped. There are 21 lambs to go this week and I plan to draft every fortnight from now on.

The rams will remain with the ewes for another two weeks and this will give the ewes every chance to go in lamb.

AT LEAST WITH MEAL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING

John Joyce farms at Carrigahorig,