When housing cattle so early in 2023, everyone imagined that 2024 would be kinder.

A possible early turnout, a kind summer with a balanced mix of rain and fine weather, followed by a dry back end with ample grass, would have been on the wishlist for many. Nearly all three have failed to materialise.

While ground conditions had been relatively good, last weekend’s torrential rainfall (and general lack of grass) will have forced many farmers to house some stock.

All is not lost on the grazing front though, and dry ground will hopefully see stock out grazing it again to whip off heavy covers before closing up for the winter.

With fodder stocks depleted in spring of this year and a mix of poor grass growing conditions in the south and east and some challenging harvesting conditions in the west, silage and fodder is not all that plentiful.

I examine how best to work around any potential fodder deficits for those who find pits not as full and few surplus paddocks having been mown out.

On the flip side, rainfall in the northwest delayed harvesting on occasion, with some poorer-quality silage being lifted, as a result. I look at balancing silage quality with target weight gains in youngstock and finishing animals.

I look at the ins and outs of grazing forage crops, from targeting high utilisation to sticking to movement requirements under Department of Agriculture rules.

I’m a big fan of forage crops, and I think they are a great way for tillage farmers to get some valuable organic matter on to their soils, while livestock farmers can get grass closed up and cut meal feeding rates.

Any rules around grazing forage crops need to be kept as simple as possible.

The chopping and changing that went on last year had a really negative impact on store lamb trade. Finally, I look at the different sources of protein in feed, and how all are not equal in quality.