Most of the ewes remain outside at the moment, with the first mob due to be housed this week after they finish grazing their allocated paddocks for the final rotation of the year.

The other mobs are getting close to being finished their respective paddocks over the next while as well but I have the forage rape that was sown after the barley harvest for them to graze into the new year.

We have gotten longer out of the last rotation than normal due to the exceptional late growth along with excellent ground conditions.

The ewes will be introduced to the forage rape gradually to allow them adjust to the change in diet.

I will give all the ewes a dose for fluke after a few weeks of being housed as this will give me more options on the products I can use.

The ewes inside will be divided into groups according to their prospective litter size

The sheep remaining outside are more at risk of fluke so I will probably start with them and then give them a repeat dose once they have been housed prior to lambing.

The ewes that have been housed do not present the same risk.

The ewes inside will be divided into groups according to their prospective litter size.

This will be determined when we start scanning the first of the ewes over the next couple of weeks according to the raddle marks as to when they are due to lamb.

As the grazing year has finished, I have been going over the production figures for the various fields around the farm and comparing them to what they produced over the previous years. There has been an improvement over the last few years and, as a friend mentioned to me, we need to first gather our information, then we need to examine it before we act.

I was not surprised at which fields underperformed and most had been earmarked to have the nutrient levels corrected or suffered during the dry weather of the summer.

I find this is the month of the year that I can get a lot of paper work done, due mainly in part to the limited amount of work I can do outside with the short days. This is not my most favoured part of the job but it is important to keep on top of it.

This can sometimes feel like a hassle but it isn’t as difficult to switch provider as we are led to believe

We need to know how the farm is performing both financially and in terms of productivity so that we can have a clear plan for the coming year. It is important to constantly keep an eye on expenditure and costs and shop around for the best deals whether for energy, phone, insurance etc.

This can sometimes feel like a hassle but it isn’t as difficult to switch provider as we are led to believe and we can save ourselves quite a bit. I find it is important to set reminders as to when I am out of contract as then I can explore my options.

As everyone is busy preparing for the festive season, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a peaceful and safe Christmas.