Even though we only have the lightest cattle mopping up the last of the paddocks, the short cold days and nights coupled with moderate rain have meant there is no loss of moisture from the ground through evaporation, so ground conditions have suddenly deteriorated significantly.

The sooner the grass fields are fully cleared the better.

The surge in vegetation from the mild autumn is going to have to wait until the spring to be eaten. We expect to have the first of the finishing cattle ready within the next week or so, though with some slight sign at last of the pre-Christmas price lift.

The intention is to replace each load sold with a load of young cattle, but with marts getting smaller we will probably wait until the early new year before buying in.

We are still living in hope that a proper genomic profile of each beef animal submitted for sale will become a reality.

Slurry digestion

As the cattle come in, we are looking at the worth of buying one of the slurry digestion products. They seemed, in some of the recent Teagasc trials, to be received with less than enthusiasm, with a move towards acid treatment of slurry to be the preferred option.

That said, I tried a biological one for a few years before the COVID-19 induced isolation and there was certainly a reduced time spent agitating and a reduced smell when spreading.

The pungent smell of ammonia is unmistakable and unpleasant but I am more concerned at its effect on earthworms and soil health.

I would like to see a thorough trial on these products taking a number of factors into account. Given my past – largely positive – experience with them, I intend to use them this year and monitor the results as closely as we can.

Out in the fields, the last crop to be sown – my gluten free oats – has made great progress. The tramlines are now clearly visible and emergence seems pretty complete and even.

Despite my trepidation at the time of sowing, at this stage the decision to go ahead seems to have been fully justified.

We took advantage of one of the fine days last week to do some herbicide spraying in the main field of oilseed rape. I was surprised and pleased at how little damage was done, even on a vulnerable headland.

We may get some more spraying done but we will have no option but to take it as it comes. The contrast between this year and last is striking. Last year, all the cereals were sown and rolled and autumn treatments applied.

This year, only the oilseed rape was rolled, that was way back in late August. Conditions in October never allowed it, at least with us.