Farming Diary for October

Pastures

• The 'spring flush' should be arriving in the North Island, but it's a month away in the South Island. But don't get too excited.
• Always be prepared for a delay, and have a clear pasture management plan based on a feed budget.  This is a measure of what feed is on the farm, what is going to grow and the feed needs of the stock.  Once you have done one, updating it is easy, so get help to organize this. It's no use just assuming that enough grass will grow.
• Pasture is not free feed - it has cost you rent, rates, fertiliser, fencing and labour so none must be wasted.  Management is all about 'pasture utilisation'.  High feed quality comes from pasture in the 'vegetative stage' and not when it starts to grow long, becomes fibrous and wants to mature and seed.
• Now that the soil temperatures have risen into the teens, nitrogen fertiliser will give pastures a boost but don't view it as a magic fix. You should at least get a response of 10:1 or 10kg of Dry Matter for each kg of nitrogen in the fertiliser.
• But the main soil nutrients of N, P, K and S will need to be adequate too.  Check your last soil test, and get it updated.
• If reading a soil test is a mystery, then get some help to explain what it all means and if you need to spend any money. Fertilisers sales and promotion are prone to a lot of hype so question all the claims.
• When spreading fertiliser, make sure you avoid waterways and troughs, and wait till it has rained before putting stock on to graze. So don't fertilise the whole farm in one go.  Lime is much less of a risk than chemical fertilizers.
• When you think pasture growth is getting out of control, start to rotate the stock faster so they are just knocking the top off.  Then when that's not enough, decide which paddocks to close up for silage.
• At this stage forget about paddocks for hay, which comes later when pasture has gone too far for good quality silage.
• It's not too early to contact your contractor as they have to plan too.
• If there's a 'feed pinch' and pastures stop growing, then simply bring the closed-up paddocks back into the grazing round again, as it's very bad practice to cut feeding levels to stock at this time of year.

Crops

• If you are planning to grow a crop for summer stock feed, it's time to get it planted provided frosts have gone (North Island). But make sure you have sorted out the reasons why you need a crop as it's an expensive operation, and failures caused by rampant weeds and dry spells are very common.
• Contractors now are experts at planting crops, and you see this in maize where there's rarely a missing line of seed or sick plants.
• With green crops like turnips, rape, kale, etc, if you plant these on your own, make sure you know how to get a good seedbed, good germination and early weed control.
• Be able to identify weeds when they have just germinated (cotyledon stage) before their main leaves start to grow, and don't assume the crop will outgrow them.

Sheep

• Ewes will be past their peak lactation but their lambs will be growing at least 300g/day and eating large amounts of grass.
• Keep moving ewes and lambs on to avoid grazing down to the sole of the pasture which is of much lower feed quality. Grazing hard also slows up pasture regrowth.  Check there's plenty of clean water as growing lambs and lactating ewes drink large amounts.
• Shear any hoggets and feed them well after shearing.  They'll burst out of their skins after this.
• Remember to avoid dipping for at least 6 weeks before shearing, as wool markets don't want our chemicals ending up in their effluent.
• After shearing treat sheep for external parasites and blowfly when they have grown about 25mm of wool so the chemical sticks.
• Cull all ewes with chronic footrot as they are just a source of infection for other sheep. Some lambs will get foot scald when the grass is wet and lush, but it cures itself when conditions dry up. Treat any bad cases where stock are suffering. Check with your vet for the best current product.
• Ewes and lambs on spring pasture will need dagging to avoid blowfly attack. Don't dive in with drench until you have talked to your vet and had a Faecal Egg Count done.
• Ewes should not need a drench, despite what the adverts say and how good the promotional gifts.

Cattle

• The first 'dairy weaner' sales start this month.  Early prices are usually ridiculous, so make sure you buy on weight and don't pay above the meat schedule price per kg.
• Only buy dehorned calves and check they have been done properly. Some calves done with caustic paste end up being a mess and the horns re-grow. You don't want added veterinarian charges to fix problems later.
• Later 4-day-old calves should be better value.  Work out which is better - to buy a late-born 4-day-old calf to rear, or a 100kg dairy weaner all ready to grown. The dairy weaner is usually a better value option.
• Calves should be growing at least 1kg/head/day on pasture and weaned off meal. If they are not growing well, get veterinary advice to look first at their feeding regime and then possible disease problems. Don't drench for worms unless confirmed by a Faecal Egg Count.
• Cows suckling calves should be milking well, so make sure they are fully fed and have plenty of clean water.  If they get thin, they'll be slow to return to oestrus and probably won't hold to early services.
• Start planning your bull needs for mating beef cows in November (North Island). Bulls are dangerous animals so the first question is - do you really need one?
• If you have an old bull on the property from last season, get it vet checked. Any bull with temperament problems should be sent to the works - today!
• If you are going to use Artificial Insemination, then make sure you have everything ready, and your heat detection skills are well honed.
• If you are not sure what's involved in an AI programme, then check with the organisation providing the service.

Management

• Keep your farm diary and records up to date, pay the bills regularly and if you have problems you can't fix, then get some help.  Don't delay. Thinking that problems will come right on their own if given time is dangerous. They could get worse, and be harder and certainly more expensive to fix later.
• Boost your security as spring-born stock are growing and can be easily stolen if near the roadside.  Bikes, fuel and food are high priority items among rural thieves.  Keep your road gate shut all the time, and reverse the top hinge so it can't be lifted off when locked.