It’s this time of the year when the legislative complications of modern farming life hits me.

Last autumn, I bought the bulk of this year’s fertiliser needs.

I had forgotten the strict rules around N, and particularly phosphate application.

Feeding a lot of grain at the finishing stages to the bulls means the phosphate content of the slurry has to be taken into account when doing the final sums on how much can be applied.

This is also meant to take into account the latest soil test results as well as the highest of the individual crop yields in the last three years. Also, whether the straw was removed or chopped back into the field.

With the daffodils about to bloom, we have begun grazing paddocks with high covers

With the excellent conditions, I have been disappointed at how slow the glyphosate has been to show results in burning off the vegetation in the fields I have earmarked for the beans. With it now applied well over a fortnight, I would have expected to see greater dieback in the volunteer weeds.

Meanwhile, with the daffodils about to bloom, we have begun grazing paddocks with high covers.

While the ground after grazing has a brownish hue, I have been surprised at how little damage has been done.

The eaten-down grass is in an ideal condition for slurry.

As I expected, the young bulls in batches of 25 to 30 are quite happy to come in each evening to the slatted houses.

The system is certainly adding to the workload but it’s also saving significantly on feed costs as well as controlling grass growth so we will stick with it as long as conditions allow.

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Home Farm: a first time grazing in January

This week in photos: field work in January