Living on the coast can have benefits and problems. April weather has delivered very few farmer tan days so far. There has been no harsh easterly wind but it has been keeping a continuous chill in the air. Total sea fog cover had kept the sun at bay for most of Easter week.

I was really glad I had extended the first round until 4 April. There was a burst of growth early in the month giving a bank of grazing which allowed me drop the supplementation to the current 2kg DM. It is an energy mix of beet and three-way coarse ration with essential cal-mag. A little baled silage helps with fibre and to slow down the eating speed as the herd files into the yard.

There were a number of paddocks I failed to graze out properly in the first round. I have been re-grazing these ahead of sequence to get them cleaned out properly. Even with good covers I would be reluctant to cut them as I would be afraid of soil contamination in silage. The second grazing levels out any marks in the ground better than any roller and with much less surface compaction.

Last week’s grass walk saw me pull out an 1,800kg paddock to add to the first cut area, and still leaving a comfortable 178kg/DM/LU. Then the north-easterly wind continued and the exposed fields visibly lost their green.

This week’s measurement showed growth of only 48kg against current demand of 75kg. High covers are OK but there is virtually no regrowth. This weekend’s rain and more southerly winds are very welcome. I will be deciding on Monday if I have to strip graze the heavy paddock.

A mix of travelling and trying to catch up on paperwork had left me running behind on a few jobs including fertilizer. A phone call brought on the contractor to top up both the grazing and silage areas. I don’t want too many jobs hanging over by next weekend, the start of the spring AI season.

All operators need to be relaxed and ready for observations, which reminds me I’d better ring the vets to book in the bull for his check-up. There is a bunch of young ladies awaiting on an outside block so he’d better be ready too.