Selecting replacements: Many mid-season flocks lambing in early to mid-March are now approaching or in the midst of weaning lambs. Farmers retaining replacements from within the flock should identify potential replacements early in the season to avoid the best-performing genetics leaving the flock in the first few drafts. It is advisable to select a higher number of replacements than will be eventually required as this will allow performance to be monitored post-weaning and provide an opportunity for further selection down the line.

Reports indicate that many of these flocks are also pulling their first drafts of lambs before they wean and this is keeping a floor under throughput. There is an opportunity to select lambs at a lower liveweight pre-weaning due to a higher kill-out potential. Grass-finished lambs should kill out in the region of 47% to 48% on average but this can vary significantly.

Lighter lambs lacking flesh can kill poorly, with the average kill-out falling back to 45% to 46% or even lower. Such cases have been reported in recent weeks where drought has had a significant effect and lamb performance has stagnated. If this occurs, it is important to increase drafting weights accordingly to hit your target carcase weights and it is even more important to draft lambs on a combination of weight and fat cover.

At the other end of the spectrum, young lambs which have been creep fed or grazed on highly digestible swards will kill-out up to 50% of liveweight and provide an opportunity to drop below 40kg liveweight when drafting. Once weaning occurs, lamb kill-out will generally fall by 1% to 2%.

Grass management: The arrival of rain has been greatly welcomed by farmers in areas suffering from a severe soil moisture deficit in recent weeks.

Grass growth rates should quickly increase and it is important to be in a position to manage grass accordingly. As growth rates exceed demand, there will be an opportunity to get the grazing rotation back on track.

Many of the flocks that were worst affected still have a significant volume of winter feed to save. As such, it is important to maximise grass growth and reintroduce fertiliser application post-grazing. The volume applied will depend on the stocking rate, grass supplies and volume of feed required.

There will also be a natural boost in growth following rain so initial application rates in cases can be lowered. Where grass supplies are under significant pressure, highly stocked farms are applying 25 to 30 units of nitrogen per acre while lowly stocked farms are applying in the region of 15 units. A regular application of fertiliser at this time of year will also help to maintain grass quality and delay grass from heading out.

On farms that have had no issues with grass supply it is important to continue to take steps to maintain quality such as splitting paddocks. This will reduce the length of time ewes and lambs are grazing lower-quality material at the base of the sward and maintain performance with sheep moved to fresh grass on a regular basis. Creep grazing lambs ahead of ewes or following ewes and lambs with dry hoggets will deliver added benefits.