The most important factor in closing up the farm is getting a high percentage of ground closed in October.

Seventy percent should be your target, this may vary from farm to farm depending on stocking rate, growth in the shoulders of the year and the demand in early spring.

Set up an autumn rotational planner to monitor this week on week.

Pick a closing-up start date between 1 and 10 October and note this will be subject to change based on growth rate and weather conditions during October.

Set your interim date between 25 and 30 October and the percentage grazed in this period to 70%.

Enter in a housed date, but, again, this will be a flexible date, dependent on October growth rates and weather conditions.

The most important things is getting the 70% close as quick as possible in October. This will ensure good quantities of grass next spring.

The next most important thing when closing up the farm is graze outs.

Good graze-outs when closing up the farm sets up grass quality for the coming year.

Poorly grazed paddocks will result in dead material being carried across the winter into the spring.

Remember, be flexible when closing the farm - growth rates and weather conditions need to be taken into consideration.

Plans will change, but it’s important for the plan to be put in place to be able to see the changes that need to be made.

If you are behind target for percentage grazed at the end of the week, action needs to be taken to catch up.

Your options are:

  • Reduce supplement to increase intakes.
  • Go into lighter grass covers to increase the amount of ground grazed per day.
  • Or introduce extra stock to increase demand and get through ground.