There is some grass ahead of the cattle, but the ground beneath is audibly moist at present. Good work done by intermittent dry days is being repeatedly undone by aggressive blasts of rain.

The paddocks immediately surrounding the yard act as nurseries. Cows can come in to eat first-cut silage at their leisure, receive a mag nut daily in the yard and we can keep a close eye on calves.

The problem now is that fresh calves are dropping fast and those in the nurseries have outstayed their welcome. There is a queue forming, but I am hesitant to let animals down the farm with the current soil moisture levels.

A potential trade-off has come to light.

Do I house suckler cows and calves in a makeshift slat/lie-back scenario or move into fresh plots, wasting grass and causing potential damage?

There is just under a fortnight of grass ahead of us. Though low, in a normal year it wouldn’t be a huge worry moving into April. However, growth rates for the area remain quite low, well back on the period average, and I need not remind anyone that the forecast for the coming days is nothing to sing about.

Feed supply

With a war chest of silage built up, feed supply won’t be an immediate issue should cattle come in. Though I am worried as to how young calves will take to potential new scenery, or lack of. The vast majority seem content in the rain and though a couple were treated for scour, it was mainly for peace of mind. However, a hint of scour in a confined environment might prove disastrous.

Heifer turnout was postponed last Saturday and should happen this week. Those selected for breeding have been vaccinated against leptospirosis and will run alongside the beef heifers at grass – whenever they get there.