Buying a stock bull: With most farmers in the middle of the calving season, there has been little thought given to breeding. If you are looking at sourcing a bull, assess its physical attributes, along with its €urostar index. Do not source a bull based on stars or looks alone.

If you are looking at the index of the bull, ensure that you are looking at the most up-to-date evaluation which took place in December. The older evaluation (from August) is based on the old index – avoid looking at this. If the bull has had a genomic sample sent away for analysis, then it will not be taken into account in the December evaluation, so bear this in mind. The next evaluation is in April.

While decisions around AI of cows can be made quickly, the stock bull needs to be managed well in advance of the breeding season. For anyone considering buying a stock bull this year, it needs to be on the farm about eight weeks in advance of breeding.

Bulls that are fed for the show ring can often be on high levels of concentrate intake. Bringing them home and taking them straight off concentrates is not a good policy. If you are buying a bull, ensure that you know what type and volume of concentrate supplementation it is on. This should be reduced slowly to avoid digestive upsets.

The bull should be fit, but not fat, in advance of the breeding season. It should be given the same vaccination programme as the main herd. Both primary and booster shots need to be given well before breeding. Feet should be checked to ensure that it has no impediments to be able to serve cows.

Derogation application extended: The Department of Agriculture has announced the extension of the closing date for applications for Nitrates Derogations. Farmers who have been used to applying in recent years will have known about the closing date of 31 March. This has now been extended to 15 April.

Farmers who have had high stocking rates in recent years but have not required derogation should pay heed. It may be well worth sitting down and examining your current stocking rate and then plan for the year.

Having an idea whether you will be over the 170kg of organic nitrogen per hectare now and applying for a derogation may save the hardship of needing to export slurry or sell stock later in the year. If you are in doubt, talk to your Teagasc or private adviser for advice.

Fertiliser applications: If the dry spell comes that is promised, there should be a strong focus on getting fertiliser applied to swards as soon as ground is dry enough.

There is very little fertiliser spread on most farms. As a result, fields are looking quite hungry. Where stocking rates are high, nitrogen needs to be applied soon to get grass growing. Even at lower stocking rates, an input of 20 to 30 units N/acre will help to boost growth.