The rain over the weekend has been a welcome sight around here as ground was in dire need of some moisture given the length of time since we last had any. All of the spring-sown crops and the grass reseeds were starting to suffer as a result.

Before the rain, I took a drive around the forestry I have on the farm and saw the negative effects the drought was having on these trees. I could see how the gorse fires had so easily taken hold in the west of the country.

Drought is not something you usually associate with April and May but now that it is raining, let’s hope the tap doesn’t remain on constantly for the remainder of the summer.

Grass growth had also taken a step back lately on account of the dry weather with growth dropping to 38kg DM/ha, although this is probably going to change for the coming week.

Up to now, I haven’t needed to subdivide too many paddocks as growth and demand has been pretty much on an even keel but I expect that this will change from next week. It will also mean that more fields will probably need to be taken out for silage as surpluses present themselves.

All the different mobs have now been through the yard at least once, with the exception of the yearlings who are due to be brought in this week. When in the yard, all lambs have been dosed for nematodirus, weighed and put through the footbath.

There was a difference in the weight gains of lambs between the different groups. The only reasonable explanation I can offer for this is that the group with the lower daily liveweight gains were being forced to graze out covers that were heavier than I would like, due to the exceptional grass growth over the winter and early spring.

This, in turn, reduced the amount of milk that the ewes were producing for the lambs. However, with covers now back on track, the lambs should be able to make up the difference somewhat by weaning if not restricted in the meantime.

I will start taking regular faecal egg count (FEC) samples from now on to help identify when any further dosing needs to take place. I will also run the mobs through the footbath as each group’s rotation passes the yard to help stay on top of any foot problems.

With some unsettled weather predicted for the near future, I will be spending a bit more time on the tractor cleaning out sheds after the winter.

Normally, it would be done by this time of year but I took advantage of the fine weather over the last few weeks to tackle the annual re-emergence of nettles around the fields. It’s a constant battle that is slowly being won.