After a wonderful start to the year, most people will be happy to see the back of February 2015. Having been battered by wind, rain and snow for the past fortnight, we’ll all be hoping that March will provide some respite.

The target to have 30% grazed by the 1 March will have been missed by most, with the majority of herds housed for much of the past ten days. Most people only have 10 to 15% grazed and have struggled to achieve this.

One thing is certain about February and March – they are unpredictable months. So while the weather is disagreeable towards grazing at the moment, it is sure to change soon with high pressure on the way, bringing dry, settled weather and warmer temperatures.

Paddocks that were grazed in early February are growing really well. It’s hard to believe but some of these paddocks have more grass on them now than they had when they were first grazed, showing the benefits of early grazing to stimulate growth and demonstrating why we target to have 30% of the farm grazed in February.

So where to from here? Normally, we plan to start the second rotation in between 1-10 April, depending on location. If you have a low percentage grazed now, and go out ‘all guns blazing’ and graze the rest of the farm in March, there is a high risk you will be short of grass on 1 April when you start the second rotation.

You need to monitor the average farm cover. For most people, the target is to have 450kg/ha at the start of the second rotation. Achieving that this year may mean delaying the second rotation by a week or 10 days. This is to give the re-growths from the first rotation a chance to recover. All will depend on growth rates during March.

For those who have 30% or more grazed, stick to the plan and have 66% grazed by St Patrick's Day and the rest by 1 April.

Remember – the weather is changing, be geared up to let out cows and have the fertiliser spreader ready to go or the contractor on speed dial. If no fertiliser is out yet, you should aim to spread one bag of urea per acre.