On cold or heavy soils, anything grazed from the end of this week on should be closed.

On dry farms, the target should be to start closing paddocks from 10 October.

The most important factor is getting a high percentage of the ground grazed and closed in October.

The target should be between 65% and 70%. The target may vary depending on stocking rate, growth in the shoulders of the year and demand in early spring.

By setting up an autumn rotation planner, the farm area is divided up and there is a set area to be grazed each day.

Grazing target

Each week, the plan will show the target percentage grazed versus the actual area grazed which will show weather allocations are correct.

When setting up the planner on Pasturebase, pick a start date between 1 and 10 October. This will be subject to change based on a number of factors, such as growth rates and weather conditions during October.

The interim date should be set between 25 and 30 October and the target percentage grazed in this period should be between 60% and 70%.

Flexible date

The housing date is required, but this too will be flexible depending on weather conditions.

The main reason for this plan is to get a large proportion of ground grazed to ensure there is grass available in the spring.

Graze-outs during this period are also important, as how the paddock is grazed in the last round will dictate how good grass quality will be in the spring.

Poorly grazed paddocks will result in dead material being carried across the winter into the spring.