Weather conditions took a turn for the worst on Tuesday night in Tullamore, though thankfully the decision was taken earlier in the day to house cattle while they were still dry.

A couple of changes were made to some of the sheds earlier in spring which allowed farm manager Shaun Diver to erect a temporary creep area on a central feed passage so young calves can access a straw bedded area.

Cows will remain housed until the current period of bad weather passes and will be fed the best silage in the yard, along with 2kg/meal/head/day to avoid body condition loss or a drop in milk yield.

Calves were kept on the creep for the first few nights to make sure they lay in the straw as opposed to on the slats.

Housing

Bringing cows indoors has put a little extra pressure on housing, but there will be no issues if cows and calves are able to go back out next week. Any longer than this and things could get very crowded.

Housing space will be at a premium on the farm over the next three weeks as ewes begin to be housed and calving pens are likely to remain full. There are currently 40 cows calved, with no major problems to report. All cows received a magnesium bolus before being turned out to prevent tetany.

Grass

Average farm cover remains just under 1,200kg/DM/Ha and there are still a number of heavy covers on the farm to be grazed. Weanling heifers remain outdoors, however grass utilisation has dropped off this week. These heifers are doing minimal damage and will be split into smaller groups if ground conditions deteriorate further.