Spring came earlier to Ardhuncart this year. The unseasonably mild weather in February and March meant that the grass started to grow much sooner than in previous years. We took advantage of this spell and applied 120kg/ha of 27-6-6 to the majority of the grazing fields before lambing started.

Lambing three weeks later

The bulk of the lambing was over quickly this year and with the milder weather working in our favour, both ewes and lambs are looking well. This is a stark contrast from last year, when the Beast from the East hit at peak lambing, giving us higher-than-average losses coupled with a higher feed bill. This led to the ewe gross margin from last year being back £19 to £27/ewe.

There have also been fewer cases of mastitis in the flock so far this year

The change in lambing date, together with the more favourable weather, has had a great affect on the lamb crop and we currently have 250 lambs running with 160 ewes on the paddocks. There have also been fewer cases of mastitis in the flock so far this year. Infected ewes were all treated with an antibiotic, a painkiller and 5ml of Vitamin B complex. We had never used Vitamin B on the sheep for mastitis before and it has proven very successful – it will definitely be used next year.

Grazing

This year, we’ve managed to get the ewes and lambs onto rotational grazing two weeks sooner; with the kind winter and the recent rainfall making this possible. The group has grazed out the first two smaller sections of the paddock and has just moved onto the largest section this week.

With the temperature rising and the weather turning wetter over the last week, coupled with our vets expecting farms to see a nematodirus rise in lambs

We are pleased with lamb performance so far this season, and hope that if grass growth continues the stock will continue to grow. With the temperature rising and the weather turning wetter over the last week, coupled with our vets expecting farms to see a nematodirus rise in lambs, they will be treated with a white drench over the next couple of days to keep them moving on.

Heifers and cows

Our annual consignment of heifers with calves at foot were sold at Thainstone at the end of last month. This year, we sold 17 heifers with calves, to average £2,708. This is marginally back £16/outfit on the year. A further nine heifers and calves were retained to join our own herd this year.

Looking forward to 2020, we have 35 heifers with the bull now. We would like to increase numbers further and expand our herd to drive output, therefore these extra numbers will be needed.

The 11 cows that are still to calve are due over the next few weeks and then will go straight to the bull

We are also calving the last batch of summer cows this year. This decision has been reached due to our lack of housing for the cattle. We have decided to concentrate on the May heifer-with-calf sales and to tighten up the rest of the herd into one spring period. The 11 cows that are still to calve are due over the next few weeks and then will go straight to the bull. Our aim is to have the calving shortened considerably in the next couple of years.

The bulls have been running with the herd since the beginning of May. Last October, we purchased a new Simmental bull at Stirling and all the cows in the herd will be run with him this summer. This will hopefully give us a greater choice of heifers for both retention and for selling with calves at foot.

Grass management

We have 7ha of new grass in this year as a direct reseed into a barley stubble. We prefer direct reseeds as it gives a better take of grass than undersowing. However, it does mean that field does not produce as much over the first year. To alleviate this, we have decided to add 1.5kg of Westerwolds to the mix. This will give us quick growth and allow us to take a cut of silage later in the summer. This is especially helpful, as we are staring at a rather empty silage pit from last winter.

We went into last winter over 200t short of silage from the scorching weather conditions. The small acreage of kale yielded really well and with the draff we purchased to feed the store calves and calved cows, we managed to get by, but silage was still bought at the end of the season.

Twelve round bales have been tubelined and set onto an area of concrete to use this as walls for the draff pit, meaning the pit has cost us very little to make

The extra yield of silage from the Westerwolds will hopefully help to build some of the stocks back, and having had such success with the draff last winter, we have just committed to nine loads to come home over the next few weeks at a summer pitting price.

Twelve round bales have been tubelined and set onto an area of concrete to use this as walls for the draff pit, meaning the pit has cost us very little to make. The nine loads are more than we had last year, so whether we have a good or bad silage season, we should come out next spring with some in reserve.

With the performance of the kale last winter and the savings it gave us, we are going to establish a similar area again this year on land that is in need of a reseed. We are also establishing swedes for the sheep pre-lambing.

While we cannot predict the weather six months out, by establishing the forage crops and buying in draff now we are insulating the business from whatever lies ahead this season, setting us in a better place for this coming winter.

Adviser comment

by Robert Gilchrist

While the recent rains have been welcome, we do not know what the season will bring this year. With this in mind, all of the programme farms, like the Websters, are making plans now to ensure they are better prepared for next winter. There are many options when it comes to this, and the Websters use of forage crops and summer pitted draff are two great strategies that can be used on most farms.

Other options exist, such as shutting up more grass and fertilising it for silage just now. Rotational grazing at this point in the season means that a much heavier stocking rate can be used to control the growth on the grazing area. The silage area can grow on to be cut in six to eight weeks, fertilised and returned to the grazing block – giving more area to spread stock over later in the summer as the grass growth curve starts to fall off.

Another option for winter is straw, either ammonia-treated or fed with a liquid or pellet concentrate to dry spring cows. While the supply and thus price of straw is currently unknown, a conversation with an arable neighbour now may pay dividends later in the year to bolster silage stocks and reduce the cost of winter.

We cannot control the weather, but we can make decisions now that take into account all possibilities. This reduces the level of risk.