Grass: Growth is still variable across the country with some areas still managing to miss much of the rain that has fallen over the past few weeks. Where there is sufficient moisture in the ground, fertiliser should be going out to boost growth. At this time of year you want to build as much grass in front of you on the farm as possible. In order to do this, the rotation length needs to increase to between 25-30 days by the end of the month. With aftergrass coming available for grazing this should make this possible, as well as sales of fat lambs reducing the stocking rate on grazing ground.

Cattle slaughter: With fodder scarce on many farms, is there an opportunity to sell cattle at an earlier stage? Have a look at your finishing cattle or – better still – bring them in and weigh them and see if some animals could be pulled out for either store sales or meal feeding and earlier finishing. This will reduce winter fodder requirements and help cashflow on farms that are stretched.

Feeding a 5kg ration at grass will also help reduce grass demand and allow you to build up some covers coming into autumn. A simple mix of barley, beet pulp or distillers will be fine when feeding at grass. Feeding cattle that are destined for sale will also help to keep them gaining weight and keep them in sale condition.

Pneumonia: I have heard of a few cases of pneumonia in autumn-born cattle at grass. The warm muggy weather has probably helped the onset. Herd stock daily and make sure all animals are eating and staying with their groups. Vaccination should be looked at if you have had issues in the past with pneumonia. Talk to your vet about an appropriate programme for your herd. Some vaccines require two shots given four to six weeks apart and full cover will not be attained before the second shot is given. Make sure all cattle have been dosed appropriately for worms. Lungworm infection can be a precursor to pneumonia and recent weather conditions could increase the chance of lungworm infection.

Quarantine procedure: Sheep breeding sales are taking place in greater intensity while trading of store lambs has also stepped up a notch. The risk of bringing disease into a flock will be determined by the known health status of the flock from which the animals are coming and the quarantine procedure that is put in place. There are several important aspects that should be in a good quarantine procedure. Anthelmintic resistance is a growing concern with resistance identified to white, yellow and clear drenches. The latest advice is to treat animals with a moxidectin-based product and the recently released wormer Zolvix. Sheep should be treated on arrival and kept off pasture for 24 to 48 hours to prevent eggs passing on to pasture. Animals should also be checked for any signs of lameness and foot-bathed while other issues to take into account are external parasites and the presence of liver fluke. A vaccination protocol should also be implemented.