Where oh where are the months going to. It feels like only last week the children went back to school and now we’re already at the end of November.

Things are relatively quiet around the farm at present. I even managed to fit in going to watch Ireland play Argentina in the Aviva, something that isn’t quite so easy at Six Nations time in the spring. We have got all the sheds washed down and disinfected over the last number of weeks in preparation for housing the ewes for the winter. I had planned to start housing the ewes in about 10 to 14 days’ time if the weather had played ball.

I have in fact housed a portion of the mature ewes this week due to the fact grass has been disappearing quicker than planned because of the wet weather and, as tempting as it is to go back and regraze some of the covers off the closed fields, I will be glad I didn’t come next spring. The remaining mature ewes will be housed as planned or maybe even a little later now, depending on the weather and grass supply.

By this time, I expect the remaining factory lambs to have been finished, freeing up some more shed space around the yard to facilitate this.

The rams are enjoying a mollycoddled life at the moment, as I currently have them housed in a shed beside the handling unit. They are being fed some ration in order to build up any condition they have lost after their busy mating period, as well as that they are getting a once-over in the yard to check for any injuries they may have picked up. I will also take note of any that may need to be replaced before next year’s breeding season. Looking after them at this time of the year is very beneficial, especially to any of the young rams as they can lose a lot of body condition when they are working for the first time.

EID tagging has been raised again lately on Minister Creed’s visit to Japan and other Asian countries. I, as many of you know, am a fan, but I don’t think it is necessary for all farms, especially those sending all their lambs direct to slaughter from place of origin. Lack of EID tagging is being portrayed as a stumbling block for access into more markets around the world, some of which may be very lucrative for our processors.

All these extra markets would help secure additional options for our product post-Brexit. Given that other countries are using EID as a marketing tool, maybe it is time for some sort of a bonus structure to be put in place to encourage farmers to take up the use EID tagging. If such a structure was to be put in place, the factories would then have a supply of product to meet the requirements of these markets and also be providing a carrot instead of a stick approach for the farmers willing to take it on board.

We need to be looking at as many ways as possible to market the excellent lamb products we have here in this country, while bearing in mind the unique requirements of each of the different markets.