The last little bit of slurry and all of the farmyard manure were got out this week, under tricky enough conditions it must be said, but with rain again forecast, I had to make the most of the window available to me because god knows if there’ll be another one.

My tillage neighbours managed to get some spring crop harvested this week as well and I got my annual quota of straw safely into the shed.

I normally get winter crop straw, but I was a bit slow to look for it this year and the man I usually get it off had all his winter stuff gone by the time I asked the question.

Thankfully, I have plenty in the shed now that should easily last the winter.

Ford 3600

I have one of my cattle sheds washed and if I had it disinfected, it would be ready for stock. However, I did make life a little more difficult for myself than I should have during the washing.

I operate a tractor power washer, which I normally run on my Ford 3600, and I was washing a couple of hours here and there whenever I got a spare bit of time.

I filled the tractor with diesel before I started, but stupidly forgot to keep an eye on it and it eventually ran out.

Anyone familiar with the Ford 3600 will know it does not have a lift pump and my battery would not be the strongest.

So, a 20-litre drum, a quad, a tool box, a set of jump leads and a matbro later, I eventually got going again. As the saying goes “there’s no cure for stupidity”.

Selling cattle

My mind is starting to think about selling cattle. I normally sell a few in November or early December every year. Could be bulls or heifers, just depends what I have the most of in any given year.

My annual herd test is always in December. I calve from November to January, so all my calves aren’t able to be sold at this time of year without conducting an extra test. I normally sell what I feel is surplus to requirement and is tested.

It takes a bit of pressure off the housing situation and helps cashflow. However, this year there are a few more things to think about when it comes to selling cattle.

The BEAM scheme needs to be taken into consideration and the 5% reduction in nitrogen output. But will selling extra cattle than normal in a calendar year have implications from a tax point of view?

The big elephant in the room of course is the B word and what will be the realities for Irish beef come 1 January post-Brexit?

Lots to think about in the coming weeks.

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