The favourable growth of grass, cereal and forage crops has replenished fodder reserves, with a surplus developing on many farms. Farmers in all enterprises are in a strong position heading into the winter, with the completion of fodder budgets falling well down the list of priorities.

While fodder reserves are good, it is important not to get complacent and lose sight of performance or allow costs to escalate.

On pages 12 and 13 Joe Patton, Teagasc, looks at diet formulation and costs of production for liquid milk dairy herds.

In the absence of light lamb markets, pages 5 and 6 tackle the issue of the most economical finishing system to bring hill lambs to French market weights. 

The fodder crisis may be fading in farmers’ memories, but the impact of reduced fertility and an extended calving interval are longer-term issues that will take time to rectify.

On pages 10 and 11, Alan Kelly looks at putting a winter feed programme in place that will help pull back the calving interval next year. Central to this is having cows in optimum body condition in the runup to calving.

It is also important to capitalise on the favourable performance achieved during the grazing season and ensure animals continue to perform over the winter months.

On pages 7, 8 and 9, we cover feeding management of weanlings and discuss options for dealing with light weanlings.

Finally, with cereal prices reducing, pages 2 and 3 focus on the most economical winter finishing diet options.