Ground chopped up after the weekend’s rain and it would benefit from a settled fortnight of dry weather.

So would I, and I know I’m not the only one. It feels like we’ve had 11 months of rain at this stage.

The main first cut was taken out last week and we’re lucky to have it in the yard.

The dice was rolled when cutting it but the gamble paid off as it was cut dry and was out for a day before baling.

Grass growth has returned to where you’d expect it to be and things got real over the last fortnight as the strip wires made their first appearance of the year.

Paddocks on the home ground haven’t had much chance to recover properly this spring, so slowing down the rotation while grass is pushing on should give them a chance. It should allow grass to build up and give more silage options too.

I took advantage of the heavy rain on Saturday and got the power washer going a bit earlier than usual at the young stock yard. As a result, once slurry is finished, there should only be an hour or so of washing to do there and I can draw a line through another job. The same can’t be said of calving.

I’m finally down to one and it looks like she’s added a bit more time to her scanning date so while the finishing line is in sight, it could remain that way for a while yet. It’s all my own fault for not taking the bull out on time but it’s also vindication of my replacement heifer policy.

The cow in question is a second calver and was the only one of the heifers to calve outside the six-week window the rest of her comrades have.

She calved in late May last year and while others pulled forward a few weeks with their calving interval, this one has slipped. A run with the bull doesn’t look like it will be on the cards for her this summer though.

It was hectic at times but I preferred that short, snappy calving period better than the drawn-out affair it has turned into

March was extremely busy but manageable but once the first week of April was in the rear view mirror, calving just seemed to drag on. The same number calved in May as did in April.

It was hectic at times but I preferred that short, snappy calving period better than the drawn-out affair it has turned into.

The last few to calve, when they are so far out from the main bunch of cows, just create work. It’s harder to switch off and organise anything off-farm.

I was on the button taking the bull out from the heifers but a bit more discipline is needed when it comes to doing the same for the cows. So that’s going to be one of the priority July jobs now.

Breeding will get fully under way over the next fortnight with AI starting but at a lower level this year due to circumstances and the bulls will be going in with the cows.

AI will be used on a few pedigree cows and older cows that could be on the cull list.

All will get one straw and the pedigrees will be left with a stock bull then while the older cows will remain with the yearling heifer group that didn’t make the cut for breeding. If they hold in-calf they stay and if they don’t, they’ll be sold.