If management practices are not flexible, there is a risk of damaging grazing swards. Heavy cattle and bull weanlings will become unsettled during wet conditions and are likely to walk the perimeter of hedges and fencing wire.

On the programme farms, heavy cattle are not being held in a paddock until it is fully grazed out during heavy rainfall. Instead, cattle are being moved onto the next paddock earlier. Concentrates are being offered also to try and prevent bulls from becoming more aggressive.

Bulls have been offered up to 3kg/day of concentrates during wetter periods. Heavier bulls over 450kg liveweight have been housed on some farms to finish. On heavier farms that finish bulls at 18 to 20 months, bull weanlings are also being housed now as they will perform better indoors on a controlled store diet, rather than trying to squeeze another two to three weeks of grazing wet grass.

Moving cattle on to the next paddock early means these animals have less walking to do in order to graze sufficient grass to meet daily demand. Sheep or lighter cattle are being used to clean out paddocks afterwards. On the farms without sheep, or farms with drier land, the target is to graze out the paddocks in the next rotation with light weanlings before closing off for the winter.

Autumn calving has gone well across the farms with very few problems encountered. The favourable weather has allowed the farms to get cows and calves back to grass straight after calving. As calves are not being exposed to disease, mortality has been low.

Also, because of good grazing conditions, cows have calved down with excess body condition which has been utilised after calving. Few farms have had to offer concentrates to cows in order to sustain milk yields.

||PIC2||

It is important that mid-August to October calving cows are in excellent body condition (BCS 3) when they are housed so that fertility is not affected. Some of the farms intend to house these cows first so that they are on a settled diet ahead of the start of the breeding season, rather than housing during the breeding season.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Grazing conditions have become harder to manage on the heavier farms.

Heavy cattle and bulls are being moved after one to two days in a paddock rather than forcing them to graze a

paddock out.

Lighter cattle or sheep are being used to clean paddocks out after these cattle.

More cattle are being housed. Stronger bulls are being housed as they will perform better indoors than at grass.

Cow body condition is important ahead of the grazing season.

TOP TIP

If possible, do not house all cattle on one day. Aim to fill 25% of the shed, then another 25% around one week later. If there is an outbreak of pneumonia, there will be a limited number of cattle affected compared with filling the entire house on the same day.