There has been a gentle easing of stock out to grass over the past week to 10 days,, as ground conditions have finally firmed up enough to open the latch without too much worries about damage. It’s not the case for right across the country, but in general, free-draining land has soaked away and is trafficable for machinery and stock. The week ahead looks relatively dry as well, which should further solidify grazing conditions.A more worrying issue is the lack of grass growth for any. Farmers have been talking about two things to me of late; firstly, covers that were closed up relatively heavy (1,000kg-1,200kg DM/ha) last back end are now sitting at 700kg odd due to cold winds and frosts. You can always expect up to one third of grass to be lost this way, but it still is an awful kick in the teeth.