Farmer Writes: cows out as long as conditions allow

You’d think ground conditions were good until we had a few drizzly or foggy days in the second half of last week. That’s when the fields that appeared firm showed their true state. Hooves sank a bit more compared to recent weeks, but to a level that you’d be used to for the time of year.

Thankfully, while it’s mostly cows that are still out, they’re the younger, lighter cows and damage is minimal.

I had pencilled it down to bring them in this week, but the forecast is hinting at them getting a small extension. They’ll stay out as long as conditions allow and they might get a few hours in some of the paddocks lined up for early grazing too.

Salt blown in from the sea can quickly put a dent in covers that are built up on exposed fields, so it makes sense to eat it now if I can.

Housing is firmly on the horizon for most of the cow herd and the yard and my housing plans are all on standby for whenever the curtain finally comes down on this grazing season. This is the time of year where weanlings always look their worst but since last weekend, I’m starting to see some of them turning the corner.

They’re used to their new environment and diet now, and it’s showing. The bigger ones are squaring up again and every day the number who look like they’re standing still gets smaller and smaller.

With the exception of the older heifer calves, everything else is weaned. The yard has quietened down, but I expect decibel levels to increase slightly when weaning starts for them.

I don’t know whether that it’s because they are the last group weaned or I’ve got used to the silence, but every year the heifer calves from the older cows are always the most vocal. The other calves should settle them fast though.

Once those heifers are back home, it will be the first time I’ll get to see all of this year’s crop of heifer calves together and I’m looking forward to that.

They are the most even crop I can remember and the selection process for replacements will kick up a notch once they are mixed.

That began properly last week when all the housed weanlings were weighed. I put the first few in the crush and didn’t close the gate then to see if their inquisitiveness would lead them to the scales.

I was surprised when over half of them just walked by no problem. The next few loaded okay, but the last three increased the time spent at the job and in doing so, put themselves firmly into yellow card territory.

After watching the rest walk through without a hand being laid on them, they still couldn’t see the merit of walking straight through the open gate.

They’d walk up to it, put on the brakes, turn around just when it looked like they’d go in or else just take turns standing across the opening and blocking the other two.

A sign of progress was when two tried to fit through the gate together only to get stuck. Eventually after a few circuits of the holding pen they went through only to all want to go on the scales together.

Incidents like that will come against them when it comes to my own final call on which of them ultimately go to the bull.

Those cattle absorb too much time and are more of a health and safety risk compared to the ones that just walked right through. They rarely improve with age either and I can see that with a few of the cull cows.

There are two that are a little bit too wired and they’re taking a bit longer to finish than I’d like.

The numbers of those get fewer each year and that makes everything run a bit smoother.