Livestock Farmer Focus FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Fine silage weather kept tedding to minimumAs usual, there has been plenty going on. May saw us inseminate 384 cows in the first three weeks to give us a submission rate of 95%. Heifers were all… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Spot-on forecast sees silage safely clampedThere’s nothing like the sound and sight of your neighbours mowing grass to get you phoning the contractor. We still share a set of double mowers, even though we gave… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Westerwolds crop of choice on pig groundThe recent hot weather will have been a challenge for farmers across the board. I was very grateful that we had only just taken piglets into the indoor units. And… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Talk to a neighbour – it could save a lifeWhat a year it’s been for grass growth. We've had a bumper first cut with more than 1,000t in the clamp already – that's 50% of what we need for… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Highs and lows of bull sales test resilienceMake hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes. The clamps are half filled with lovely dry, high-quality clover and herbal leys. I look forward to seeing how they… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Burden of risk in cattle trade must be sharedWe have a brief respite before the summer workload of silage, hay and breeding begins. It’s a time to reflect on the spring just passed and work out where it… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Rotational grazing - go on, you might enjoy itThe cattle were turned out on 24 April and, hopefully, they will stay out for longer than they have been in. Weanlings are grazing where cattle have not grazed for… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: AI request results in bespoke breeding indexIt's good news. A clear TB test has allowed us to ship many of the beef calves off the farm. We can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The good… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Grazing system switch presents bull quandaryThere is a saying locally: “Dinnae cast yer cloot until May is oot”. There is some debate as to whether this refers to the month of May or the May… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Flexible grazing decisions key in dry springWith the weather this spring being remarkably similar to last year, we are extremely pleased we made the decision to shut one field up at lambing time. If it hadn’t… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Refocus on detail delivers best broiler cropMay tends to be a quieter time on the farm here. With lambing out of the way and silaging normally starting at the end of the month, it gives us… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: What farmers need from new Welsh governmentFinally, a change has happened in Wales. For all of my adult life, the Welsh government has been run by Labour and, as is well documented, many farmers think Labour… More articles
