Newford Farm has taken advantage of ideal ground conditions by applying slurry on Thursday. In previous years, slurry would have normally been switched at this stage from the first tank to fill in the converted sheep shed to tanks in the main cattle shed.

With cows housed later in 2018, the tank was slower to fill and this has coincided with ground being in excellent condition.

Slurry was piped with an umbilical system and applied with a trailing shoe. This will also allow the farm to take advantage of positive grass growth in recent months should the period of current weather continue and reduce the time from applying slurry to grazing.

Management

Day-to-day management tasks centre on checking young stock regularly to ensure there are no issues with temperatures in sheds remaining above normal.

2018-born progeny continue to receive silage ad-lib and 2kg of a high-energy 16% crude protein concentrate daily.

A decision will be taken in the coming weeks to reduce supplementation levels in advance of turnout. This will also be influenced by the quality of silage available. Yearlings are currently being fed higher-quality baled silage.

The closing date has now passed for the farm manager's position and a good level of interest has been reported. Applications are currently being assessed and interviews will commence shortly.

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