Over the winter, we had the lowest mortality with the bulls that I can ever remember. Then, all of a sudden, we had a young bought-in animal that died suddenly with sepsis and over the last fortnight or so, we have been nursing a bull that is finding it more and more difficult to get up.

To cap it all, at our herd test last week, we had a reactor which will mean the herd will be restricted

Over the weekend, we took the difficult decision to put him down. Our vet had already treated him with antibiotics so there was no question of him being eligible to go into the food chain.

To cap it all, at our herd test last week, we had a reactor which will mean the herd will be restricted and we will have to do another full herd test in about 60 days. I haven’t got the official letter from the Department yet, specifying the exact date.

Meanwhile, I have finished the feed wheat I had kept for the cattle from last harvest so we are now back in the open market buying rolled wheat or barley.

There are all kinds of tales of stores filled with high-priced grain from the harvest

The price has dropped enormously and native grain is roughly comparable with imported maize – provided the supplying merchant is not trying to get a profit on grain bought in last autumn. There are all kinds of tales of stores filled with high-priced grain from the harvest.

On the crop side, the general run of cereals and oilseed rape look well but having congratulated myself for having got our beans sown, rolled and sprayed in excellent conditions at the end of February, I find one section of a field badly affected by crow damage – three to four acres are a write-off.

Crows always do damage to young bean seedlings in spring but never enough in my experience to cause concern – until this year.

The suggestion has been made to plough up that section of the field and put in spring barley but that would complicate field management.

I think we will leave it until the harvest and try to measure the effect of the crows.

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