Breeding will be in full swing by the weekend with the bull going in with the younger cows on the out-farm.

There’s about a week of AI complete, with the cows and the heifers heading for their third week with the bull. If all hold it could prove to be a pretty busy March next year.

I had hoped for a break between calving and breeding, but one cow decided she’d take an extra three weeks to have the final calf of the year.

As calving seasons went, it was the most straightforward. A pair of heifers needed the ropes, as did a cow. However, the calving jack only made one appearance. A calf was coming backwards, which meant the cobwebs had to be dusted off the jack.

While the weather didn’t fully play ball I took a gamble on the rest of the first cut silage last week.

I blame the wet summer of 2012 for that decision. Back then we waited for silage to bulk up and then waited for the weather to come right. The result was a monster crop of poor quality bales. Their DMD varied from 61.2% to 66.6%. That was the end of waiting for everything to be right.

Last year’s crop was cut in similar weather conditions to last week and the DMD range went from 70.7% to 79.8%.

The leftovers from 2021 have played a part in having a good share of what’s needed for next winter in the yard already. Because of that, the fertiliser question has moved from, will we have enough of it, to how much could we have leftover?

What is very visible this year is how changes in economic circumstances drive change faster at farm level than policy changes

However, there’s a long grazing season ahead and a dry spell or a wash-out is still a possibility. But if it’s possible to keep fertiliser use at a lower level this year, then that will surely be worth trying out.

It’s a chance I’m willing to take this year when beef prices are good. The plan is to see what input levels we can operate at if price hits a few bumps in the road in future.

Getting to this position has been the result of a few years of tweaking the system to suit our circumstances.

Later calving in spring and later grazing in autumn have certainly helped. Calves won’t be making an impression on grass demand for another few weeks, which means this is the opportune time to pick off silage without having to fire inputs at it.

What is very visible this year is how changes in economic circumstances drive change faster at farm level than policy changes.

The formation of a Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group is to be welcomed, and it will be interesting to compare the conclusions from their report with that of the dairy group.

The variety of different systems and wide variation in scale of drystock farms will make their task a bit more challenging in comparison to the spring or liquid milk production that prevail in dairy.

It will offer a chance for beef and sheep voices to put forward their vision of where the sectors are heading.

Hopefully those involved will focus on the bigger future challenges and opportunities rather than getting bogged down in past flashpoints.