The weather has really helped to extend the grazing season on my farm and all cows and calves are still at grass. I have spread the groups out over a bigger area to ease the demand on grazing covers and prevent any ground damage.

In total, there are 77 cows and calves at grass and they are split into groups based on whether they have a bull calf or heifer calf.

Housing

However, I am planning to house the first group of cows this weekend, purely from a management perspective. The first group that will be housed is the first-calved heifers and their calves.

I put the creep feeder out with these calves at the start of last week to get them eating meal and prepared for weaning.

The creep feeder will also help to take the pressure off the heifers in late lactation and maintain calf performance.

The heifers are slightly leaner than I would like and I hope to improve their condition over winter.

Therefore, I think these animals are better off coming inside in the next few days and put on to good-quality silage to have them in the ideal body condition before calving down next spring.

Weaning

Once housed, I think I will wean their calves. There are a couple of lighter calves in the group, but, overall, the calves are well developed and strong enough to wean.

With calves now eating meal, this should help to ease them through the weaning process without too big of a drop in performance.

In addition, all calves on farm have been wormed and vaccinated against pneumonia in advance of weaning.

Calves will be weaned quickly by locking them away from their mothers in the creep areas. I had thought of leaving the calves on the heifers for another few weeks, but I think I would be better off weaning them now.

The reason being is that the heifers would require additional silage to be fed, along with concentrates. This is much more expensive compared with feeding a silage-only maintenance diet to heifers when they are dried off.

Also, the heifers calved in March and early April, so they are in late lactation and would be producing very little milk at this point of the year.

Therefore, I feel that weaning now is the best option for the group, as it will reduce the feed demand in heifers and make it easier to correct body condition in the coming weeks.

Cows

The rest of the cows will be housed as soon as the current rotation comes to an end in early November.

Their calves are yet to start on creep feed such has been the availability and quality of grazing swards over the past couple of months.

Again, I will wean the calves in the shed around mid-November. Cows will be put on to a maintenance diet of silage to hold body condition.

Calves will most likely be fed 2kg/day of a 16% protein growing ration, along with first-cut silage over the winter period.

The other task to be carried out at housing is to get the cows scanned.

With some cows grazing on outfarms, it is much easier to scan them once they are brought back to the yard for housing.

However, I am happy that cows are settled in calf, as there has been very little signs of any breeding activity this autumn.

Any cow that is not in-calf will be separated from the group and intensively finished before Christmas.

While the cows are still at grass, the store bullocks are already housed. I housed 17 of the strongest animals around five weeks ago in mid-September. They were approximately 500kg at housing. Last week, these animals averaged 565kg. Since housing, the bullocks have been eating 5kg/day of a finishing ration and top-quality silage made from surplus grass that was cut and baled on 25 May.

The bullocks are a mix of Angus and Limousin breeding. Normally, these animals are ready for slaughter from February to April.

However, given their current weights and daily performance, I should have some of these animals ready for slaughter before Christmas, which will be a huge positive for the farm.

I have a second group of 14 bullocks that were housed two weeks ago. These animals are lighter and weigh 480kg to 500kg. Therefore, it will be next spring before these animals come fit for slaughter.

I am feeding these bullocks a growing ration to keep them developing frame and lean muscle. Along with the bullocks, there are nine beef heifers to slaughter next spring.

These were the youngest animals born in spring 2017 and too light to put to the bull this year for breeding. They are still at grass, but will most likely be housed in the coming week.

Silage and reseeding

The good weather enabled me to make a third cut of silage on 27 August, with 29 acres mowed and ensiled in the pit.

I never usually get three cuts of silage made, but grass growth has really excelled this year. The third cut also helped to boost fodder reserves, as earlier crops were lighter than I would have liked.

I am in the process of getting a fodder budget completed, but I reckon I am fine for silage from November to April.

The extended grazing and earlier finishing dates for cattle have also really helped to stretch silage reserves.

Reseeding

I have also taken advantage of the weather to get ground reseeded this autumn.

Nine acres of silage ground was ploughed on 6 September to improve drainage and alleviate any compaction. It was then power-harrowed and grass seed-broadcast.

Another 12 acres were reseeded on 20 August using an Einbock drill to stitch in grass seed to an existing grazing sward that is in need of rejuvenating. Both reseeds are now established and will be grazed with sheep to help them tiller out.