I am going to steer very much clear of the debate on the current state of beef farming. I have heard and listened to many different and varying views on the topic but I don’t think we are any wiser. However, it is no wonder the processors are promoting the Hereford idea - I left one of the food stands (that will remain nameless) at the Ploughing after being robbed to the tune of €10 for a beef roll.

I spent a very enjoyable four days at the ploughing with my work and whenever I got a chance I took a wander around the stands. It has to be said that farming definitely doesn’t lack in the technology or shiny new machinery stakes. But a lot of farmers can get very carried away on shiny bits of kit that might not mean their farm will run any more efficiently or safely.

While loading store cattle we recently purchased to move them to a field away from the yard, I commented on one of the best and low cost investments we ever made on our farm. We constructed a loading bay for cattle two years ago that has worked out tremendously well.

It consists of a simple 8ft wide passage leading directly into a trailer. It is narrow enough that cattle won’t try and turn and come back and it is surrounded by and high wall and high railing.

This means animals remain remarkably calm and just run up onto the trailer. The total cost of the job was less than €1,000 - a sum of cash that wouldn't go very far on anything I viewed at the Ploughing, from machinery to shiny new tractors.

Synchronising ewes

My thoughts are turning to my breeding flock of ewes. I have decided to push the lambing date out till 1 April. The weather should be kinder and the grass more plentiful. My intention this year is to sponge the ewes or synchronise them to lamb in a period of two weeks.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when I was in the midst of lambing and now we are thinking about next year’s lambs. It is unusual practice to sponge at this time of the year as ewes are cycling on their own merit, but I want to try and confine lambing to as short of window as possible.

My work commitments mean my time is limited so we hope to employ someone on the farm full time for next spring. The sponging should allow us to be with the majority of ewes lambing and keep mortality rates to a minimum.

I have found in the past when lambing drags on, fatigue and interest start to wain so I’m hoping to eliminate both. There is a cost associated with this method, but at €6 a ewe, if we keep two extra lambs alive it pays for itself.

The ewes are in perfect condition so ovulation rates should be high. I split the ram and ewe lambs last week. I am lucky as there is only a handful of ram lambs left so I will push them along with meal as I find they only start to get leaner at this time of the year if they're left uncastrated.