We have all the wheat fields cleared of straw and stacked nicely to be taken by the mushroom composters.

It has been impossible to do anything during the last week except travel as lightly as possible on fields as the straw was trailered off.

I would like to begin ploughing for the winter barley but am going to leave it for a few days in the hope that the effects of the rain will have reduced.

We still have about half the oaten straw to bale and while it’s theoretically sold, it is much easier for the buyer to pay when it is safely baled in the 8x4x4 bales he uses.

He has turned it several times at this stage but just when it is on the point of being ready, it has rained.

Normally I would have no qualms about buying cattle at this time of the year and being confident that they could stay out until mid-November or later for light ones.

This year is different – I have stopped for the moment.

I cannot afford to be overstocked with young vulnerable cattle outside while I am waiting for pens to be free as we sell off the finished bulls. The difference in cattle quality and profitability really came home to me last week.

For me, the key indicator is how long an animal is on full feed. I have carefully tracked one animal as an example of what I should not have.

This Charolais/Holstein cross was 217 days on full feed compared with the normal 130-140 days. This extra 80 days on what is almost an ad-lib cereal diet destroys any hope of any profit on that individual animal.

To add insult to injury, the bull killed out at 53% as an O+.

His better-bred counterparts normally do U- or U= or so at about 58% to 59%.

Money was lost in every direction.

The message is clear – mediocre cattle even at a low buying-in price can turn out to be the dearest.

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In pictures: cull cows sell to €2,240 at Balla Mart

In pictures: first sale of antibiotic and GM feed free weanlings

Managing replacement heifers in winter