Calving finally drew to an close almost two weeks ago. Thankfully, all went well, with two calves requiring a gentle pull. The calving jack was able to gather cobwebs for the final third of calving. It’s unusual to see so many smaller calves running around in early June.

Calving was three weeks longer than usual and it’s fair to say I wouldn’t be a fan. You don’t have the same focus on it compared with late February and March. It was a case of needs must for 2017; the challenge now is to streamline it again.

Hopefully putting extra heifers in will help tighten it back to eight to 10 weeks.

The average calf birth weight for this year was 39kg, 1kg lighter than last year. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to meet last year’s 0% mortality. Unexpected twins and other losses, including two to meningitis, saw a few more trips to the knackery than I would like. But that is the nature of farming, things always balance out.

The delight at the record low mortality last year was tempered by a bull going sub-fertile midway through breeding resulting in calving being pushed out longer than the normal finish date.

Grass growth is flying at the moment and the plan is to pick up as much silage as possible between now and the end of the month before grazing demands rise. A combination of a difficult spring for grazing and rain coming at the right time in May means half the silage required is baled up already. The handful of cull cows were moved on last week and the education in finishing cattle continues.

Two were first-calved heifers that were a bit flighty. They had been in the yard with the younger cattle all winter and their main job there was to tidy up the silage that the weanlings had passed over. They got out to grass in February but were pulled back in before the end of March when ground was saturated. The other two included an older cow who unfortunately had premature twins and another that showed up bulling in over the winter and they were put out of the house in the middle of January. With the later calving they played their part in getting the farm grazed early.

All killed out either 3+ or 4- for fat from grass and silage, so I was content with that.

It might be worth holding on to the younger empty cows putting them out grazing early and moving them in early summer instead of getting rid of them in the autumn.

The wet weather saw the power washer start up and as usual it gave me time to dwell on a few Irish Farmers Journal headlines of late. If there is €12m owed to contractors, how much is owed to other agri-service providers, and how long can that continue?

It was interesting to read the comments of the student of the year Shane Fitzgerald about the importance of travel and education. I’d agree with Shane. Go off, travel – it opens the mind to a world beyond your parish or townland.

Spending time abroad or even working off-farm can be of huge benefit for when you go farming. It is also in my mind one of the best educations you can get and gives you a good perspective on the different opportunities and challenges in different parts of the world and at home.