My cows calved through late summer and autumn. Calving went well and I finished with 41 calves from 42 cows. Cows are now being bred for next year. I have finished using AI for this season, so the Limousin stock bull is now running with the later-calving cows and any repeats.

Silage has been analysed and I am pleased with the results. First-cut came in at 71 DMD and the second-cut at 74 DMD. High-quality silage will help reduce the levels of meal feeding this winter to cows with calves sucking. I may need to buy in some silage, having carried out a budget with my adviser, as it shows that there is only enough fodder for a four-month winter at best.

I always budget for at least a five-month winter to be safe. Due to severe drought this summer, where I received just over an inch of rain from late May to late September, my land burned up and grass growth was very low. This resulted in me feeding baled silage I had conserved earlier in the summer, along with purchasing a substantial amount of bales. It will be interesting to see how it impacts on my profit monitor at year-end.

Last year’s male calves are being finished as bulls under 16 months of age. The target is a 400kg carcase, which is a slight improvement on previous years. They are being fed up to 12kg of a 12% (0.95 UFV) bull finishing ration. Bulls were housed in early August when grass went scarce.

I have roughly 65% of my land closed up at the minute. I have a few paddocks near the sheds saved for winter grazing by my calves. They will be allowed access to grass and to suck the cow in the shed at night. They may be fed up to 2kg/day of ration also.