Drafting progress: It has been an unusual year for lamb performance and drafting progress.

Teagasc targets for a mid-season flock lambing from the start to the middle of March are to have at least 45% of lambs drafted by mid-August, with this figure increasing to 70% by mid-September.

Ewe lambs identified for retaining as flock replacements should be included in the drafting rate calculation.

Where the drafting rate is running significantly behind target, it could end up with lambs competing with ewes for available grass supplies and greater challenges in building sufficient autumn grass.

The target at the start of September is to have 20 days grazing ahead of sheep, rising to 30 days by the end of September. Steps that can be taken to fast-track drafting and help build grass supplies are to target forward lambs for concentrate supplementation, with the best response achieved from supplementing lambs upwards of 38kg to 40kg liveweight.

These targets are a lofty aspiration for flocks in the south east blighted by drought, many of which have only received their first significant rainfall this week. On these farms there will be no option but to continue to feed lambs and ewes to try and build any decent supply of grass.

Teagasc fertiliser advice in drought areas continues to be to hold off applying fertiliser until seven to 10 days after significant rainfall has arrived and until grass growth has returned to normal rates of 50kg DM/ha daily. When fertiliser is being applied, a compound is being advised over straight nitrogen where allowances allow.

Straw requirements: Straw supplies appear to be okay at present, with a favourable harvest helping to compensate for lower acreage. Supply forecasts could change quickly, however, if farmers short of forage start to purchase higher volumes as an option to feed along with concentrates or to boost feed supplies.

Therefore, it is worth farmers sourcing required supplies now.

Feeding a high- or all-concentrate diet could also be an option to get sheep farmers short on forage out of trouble or to aid in finishing lambs. In such a case ewes will consume about 0.5kg straw daily.

A lowland ewe will use in the region of 7kg straw per week to bed and absorb all urine/faeces with hill ewes requiring a lower volume of 4kg to 5kg per week.

A useful rule of thumb is that a 4 × 4 round bale weighing 140kg will provide enough straw to bed 18 to 20 lowland ewes or 30 to 35 hill ewes for a week.

An 8 × 4 ×3 rectangular bale typically weighs 350kg to 380kg while an 8 × 4 × 4 bale weighs about 550kg (480kg to 580kg).

The requirement can be reduced by 15% to 20% where feeding hay/haylage rather than silage, while the use of a straw blower can help to reduce usage by up to 10%. Remember to include four to five round bales for bedding individual lambing pens for every 10 ewes. This is based on a turnaround of 24 to 36 hours so more is required if retaining in pens for longer.

Ram sale: The Irish Charollais Sheep Society, the Irish Texel Sheep Society and the Suffolk Sheep Society South of Ireland are coming together to hold a large multi-breed ram sale of over 150 rams at GVM Tullamore Mart. The sale takes place on Saturday 5 September at 12pm.