Make sure you take a rest from the farm for a few days this week to enjoy time with family and friends. The farm will be there once Christmas has passed.

To reduce the amount of time that has to be spent in the yard on Christmas Day, double up on the feeding on Christmas Eve. Do the same again on 26 December.

The same applies with bedding. On Christmas Eve, throw in an extra bale of straw when bedding cattle. This should hopefully make bedding last through to at least St Stephen’s Day.

Feeders

Fill ad-lib feeders for finishing cattle. For animals on lower concentrate levels, make up buckets of meal beforehand and have them stored so they can be lifted and fed out quickly.

If you do have to go into the yard on Christmas, it should be just to push in silage or to treat sick animals or where a cow calving is calving.

From all of the livestock team at the Irish Farmers Journal, I wish you a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year with your farming activities in 2020.

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Be sure to relax for a couple of days at Christmas, spending time with family and friends. Doubling up on feeding can help to cut down time spent in cattle sheds, giving more time away from the farm.