Even though August was nothing special, September really came to fruit and the proceeding months of October and the first half November were exactly what was needed weather-wise.

If you had written down a wish list of conditions earlier in the back end, you could hardly imagine we would receive a more perfect medley between above-average temperatures with little rainfall leading to higher-than-normal grass growth rates matched with exceptional grazing conditions.

This week has spelled the end of grazing for practically all cattle farmers, with only those of us lucky to be blessed with owning ovines continuing to graze, though it is arguable that these cause enough hardship regardless of them being inside or out.

When it comes to housing cattle, the ideal scenario is to house when animals are dry, but current conditions this week will likely not allow for this.

Risks

The risk of pneumonia when housing has likely lessened with the reduced air temperatures, with a spike in cases reported a number of weeks ago due to muggy and mild weather.

It’s important not to be complacent though just because temperatures have cooled. Bulls housed in batches or being mated with autumn-calving cows - or stock rams out with ewes - are at particular risk, as the work rate from mounting during the day can cause increased sweating, which when combined with rapid cooling at night with low temperatures leaves these animals at particular risk.

In the field

Outside of the shed, there are a few maintenance tips that should be carried out.

Freezing temperatures can cause damage to water fittings and troughs, so these should be checked to ensure that they are not spraying out water.

Where concrete troughs are not being used daily by grazing livestock, these should be switched off and drained to prevent frost damage.

Growth rates were 6kg above normal for both October and November, so hopefully the closing cover should be on target for most.

Pasturebase recommends a closing cover of 700kg DM/ha for farms with a high demand in early spring (high six-week calving rate), but if early turn-out isn’t possible or a low demand is more common for your farm, then a lower cover should suffice.