Herd tasks: Your weekly farming checklist

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

Weanling sales are up and running, and it has never paid better to feed weanlings concentrates pre-sale.

Monday, August 18 - Sunday, August 24

All Stock 

• Try to prioritise the best-quality grass for the most productive stock on the farm.
• Monitor all stock for parasite burdens and dose accordingly.

Dairy 

• Aim to keep total intakes up to maintain performance.
• Many are supplementing heavily, with maize, whole crop, pit silage, quality bales or moist feeds to stretch grass and allow farm covers to improve once we get sufficient moisture. All will need to be balanced correctly to maintain performance.

Sucklers

• Continue to supplement cows with calves at foot with magnesium licks.
• Keep autumn calvers on a low plane of nutrition to control body condition.
• Supplement fresh cows with magnesium licks.

Weanlings 

• Weanling sales are up and running, and it has never paid better to feed weanlings concentrates pre-sale.
• 4-5kg of a weanling ration on quality grass will pay very well with current mart prices.
• The buyer will also reap the benefits of this, as they will be able to increase feeding faster as they are well settled on it.

Compiled by Brian Reidy, an independent ruminant nutritionist at Premier Farm Nutrition.