I am still struggling to work out what the best time to calve my spring cows is.

Two years ago, I decided to delay calving by a month and start in April, as I had become fed up being unable to get cows out to the fields in March.

The weather last spring was excellent, and if I had calved in March they probably would have got out almost straight away.

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It was wonderful – there was a massive saving in work as well as straw and feeding

But in any event, most of them calved in April and headed immediately to the fields. It was wonderful – there was a massive saving in work as well as straw and feeding.

Cows and calves did really well. Calves ended up every bit as heavy as other years, and the cows got into good condition and came into heat very quickly. Everything was as near perfect as you could ask for –so much so that I decided to push calving back again into March.

This has turned out to be a big mistake. This spring has been awful.

I am sitting in the middle of April with most of the cows calved and nothing outside yet.

To add to my woes, turn-out looks a long way off yet.

Workload

I have cows and calves stuck everywhere – in individual pens, in small group pens and larger group pens. Every house has far more than is comfortable.

It means I have a massive added workload cleaning, bedding and feeding these animals. Doing that takes a couple of hours in the morning and the same again in the evening.

To be honest, I am completely fed up and I keep watching the forecast for a change in the weather.

It is making me question the logic of calving the spring cows as early in this part of the country

It is nearly impossible to keep them clean and looking well.

The extra straw, feed and labour are adding up and I think the performance is way back on last year.

It is making me question the logic of calving the spring cows as early in this part of the country.

I have been struggling to work out what is best here.

The early calves can be weaned at grass and then housed separately. With later calves they have to be kept with the cows and my housing does not allow for that.

Silver lining

However, there is one silver lining that I have not mentioned yet.

Because I calved most of my cows in April last year and March this year, it will mean that I get two Suckler Cow Scheme payments on most of my spring cows this year. So, I will have a more substantial payment to look forward to this year.

Having said that, it will take most of it to pay for the extra inputs.

I also have mountains of farmyard manure everywhere, and it feels like I have shifted it all with the graip and wheelbarrow. It’s maybe not all that bad as this manure might be useful later on in the year, but it is certainly not fertiliser for nothing.

If I change my calving back to April, I run the risk that a lot of my cows miss the suckler payment in 2027

Going forward, the big question in my mind is what will I do next – as yet, I really don’t know.

One thing for sure is I cannot keep chopping and changing.

If I change my calving back to April, I run the risk that a lot of my cows miss the suckler payment in 2027, meaning any gain I have made in 2026 will be lost next year.

The one option that I may have to consider is improvements to my housing system.

I have been reluctant to go down this route as it will be a lot of money for a month or so in the spring, and then if you get a good spring you might not need it.

Is there enough money made in sucklers to justify the cost? That is another question I can’t answer.