September has snuck up on us all. Within the ditches, it was a more pleasant farming summer than that of 2018.

August has done its best to top up the annual rainfall for the year and hopefully there’ll be a return to better weather for the next few weeks. It’s just nature’s way of balancing things out.

Hopefully markets will also balance, although it looks like a rough ride ahead for both beef and dairy producers over the coming months, with market forecasts not where farmers would like them to be.

Unless there is an almighty surge of grass growth, fodder conservation has wound up on this farm for the year. Hopefully it won’t all be required between now and next spring.

There is still a bull running with the bull calf group, so any empties there will be scanned again later in the year

Scanning has started and, due to logistics, it will probably be spread over two if not three days this year.

The older cows are completed with a few surprises. There is still a bull running with the bull calf group, so any empties there will be scanned again later in the year.

There were more younger cows than usual at home and things didn’t go their way when it came to feeding.

Normally they are run as a separate group but it worked out a little differently earlier this year.

Their comrades are due for scanning next week so it will be interesting to see how they got on in comparison.

As the heifers are furthest from any yard, we’ll be waiting until it is a bit more convenient before bringing them in.

A handful of younger cows have proved a little bit troublesome so there will be a split next year once AI is out of the way

This was the first year in a long time that we ran no cull group and as a consequence it was the highest number of breeding females we ever put to the bull. It’s something I’d like to do again. Having one group at home simplified things.

A handful of younger cows have proved a little bit troublesome so there will be a split next year once AI is out of the way.

The calves have been split into bull and heifer groups on the home farm and the same will happen on the out-farm next week after scanning is completed. It looks like it will be the heifer calves coming home first this time.

Usually it is the bull calves who return first but they outnumber the heifers considerably this year so will be left on the out-farm till later in the autumn.

This will be the eighth year all the cows and calves will be weighed in September and, thanks to the BEEP scheme, it will be the first time I’ll be paid extra to do it.

It has always been done in conjunction with pre-weaning yard work in the form of worming or vaccinations.

While I was a little apprehensive of BDGP at first, it didn’t put any real pressure on the system here after all

There are always a few surprises on the scales and I find it’s a good tester of calf temperament.

Most of these schemes are no-brainers for the farm. While I was a little apprehensive of BDGP at first, it didn’t put any real pressure on the system here after all.

The BEAM scheme looks to be a bit more complex and there’s yet to be a final decision made on whether we’ll apply for it or not.

Given there was a smaller number than usual calved this year, the average organic nitrogen for the reference years is lower than previous averages, so I have a bit more thinking to do yet.

I might have a different outlook on it if I was closer to retiring. I better go off now and reread the terms and conditions.