Second-cut silage is safely in the yard and, hopefully by the time you read this, all the slurry will be out as well. It has been a good spell to get work done.
I ended up with just under six bales per acre of really dry, almost haylage-like silage, and that's from ground that received neither slurry nor fertiliser. So, I'm more than happy with that result. It just goes to show what good growing conditions can do.
I also got the reseed grazed for the first time in near-perfect conditions. There is always a bit of nervousness the first time you let stock into a new reseed, but thankfully it has come through really well and is already back growing nicely. Ground conditions are excellent at the minute, grass dry matter is high and the cattle seem very content. It's a nice position to be in after some of the difficult weather we've had over the last couple of months.
I haven't spread much fertiliser over the past few weeks, mainly because growth has been more than adequate, but with rain forecast over the coming days I'll probably need to change that fairly soon. There's no point missing an opportunity to keep covers moving once moisture returns.
With most of the major jobs on the farm ticked off for now, my attention is starting to drift towards some of the projects that have been sitting on the long finger. At the top of that list is trying to finish a small sand arena so the kids have somewhere safe and convenient to ride their ponies.
This isn't exactly a new project. We first started it back in May 2025 and spent four solid days at it. We managed another day last October, followed by two more days this past May. So, as far as I'm concerned, I've only worked on it for seven days. Everyone else, however, seems far more interested in pointing out that it's been sitting there for 14 months and believe it's about high time it was finished.
Strangely enough, those same people don't seem overly enthusiastic about lending a hand to get it over the line.
I'm hoping to get back at it again this weekend. With a fair wind and another couple of "wee starts", I might even have it finished before the children have outgrown the ponies. Who knows, if it ever does get completed, maybe I'll even take up show jumping myself.
