One of the best years on record for maize in Ireland

October brings early evening darkness and the beginning of the last grazing rotation on most farms.

At least the weather was excellent for the Ploughing in Co Laois last week. It was great to walk around the site in shoes and a T-shirt, for a change. You get to see so much more when it is dry underfoot and overhead.

But the housing period is not far away, and the mind must turn now to ensuring that sufficient feeding is available for the full winter.