Your weekly reminder of the things that should be at the top of your farm to-do list. Published every Monday on the Irish Examiner digital Farming hub

The drought conditions are particularly serious on dairy farms where good grassland managers had been wrapping surplus grass which had gone too strong

Keeping spring cows milking well must be high on the agenda, as they still have a long way to go before drying off, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Remember a cow in the dry period is like an athlete in pre-season and you must prepare the system for the season ahead, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Some say successful beef and dairy enterprises are one-third breeding, one-third feeding and one-third management. But in truth, it's 100% management, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

It is worth inspecting pits at this stage to make sure the job was done right

Dairy herds in many areas have seen marked declines in milk yield well beyond normal yield curve reductions, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Creep feeding in the suckler herd should ideally commence when calves require additional energy to maintain target weight gains beyond the energy consumed from milk and grass

Breeding heifers at a younger age and at lighter weights yields a calf and return on investment earlier than waiting to breed until the heifer is heavier and older, but may require more careful management at calving, writes ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

A lot of dairy and suckler producers are extremely disillusioned with the indices being used.