The dry matter production from this Bonavaree mixed species paddock has inevitably slowed down due to the dry. Although, the soil moisture has potentially been “topped up” somewhat by the rains that occurred recently in mid-January (2 inches) and then a very well timed 20mm in the first week of February. This has no doubt … Read more
North face is still going strong, and had been grazed off with Lambs in mid January, followed by a quick 24 hour clean-up graze with cows. The rains that occurred in January meant that this paddock was able to be grazed, otherwise it was going to be shut up for another month. The following clean-up … Read more
Establishment of North Face with the Bonavaree mix had been slow, and the season at Bonavaree had been one of the most problematic years to establish Lucerne and Lucerne mixes. This paddock is now coming into it’s own, and is looking good following a bit of careful management. The main issues this year were: Cold … Read more
Glen Erin was being spelled from grazing at my last visit (19th November). The mob of cull ewes and their twin lambs that were being grazed here last time are being grazed elsewhere and were to return on the 20th November. The rotation length was 34 days for this round. You can see that in … Read more
North Face was direct drilled on the 17th October in perfect sowing conditions. You can see in the photos below the slight dust coming off the back of the drill indicates that the soil tilth is perfect for maintaining seed to soil contact through the use of the chain harrows behind the drill. Maintaining good … Read more
Fraser and Doug have got the cull ewes and their lambs grazing on Glen Erin at the moment, plus a handful of Friesian bulls. The paddock is currently split into two with an electrified break-fence. The Avery’s are developing their stock water system to increase trough numbers, so that they can subdivide paddocks by break … Read more
The journey to a new paddock of Bonavaree mix (Prairie Grass, Lucerne, Plantain) is well under way now. We visited the North Face paddock again last week, and it was looking vastly different to last time, see photos below. From this to this Plans for this paddock from our last visit went according to schedule … Read more
The ewes and lambs were tailed off this paddock on the 6th September, and the paddock was being spelled when I visited on the 14th September. You can see by the photo below that all the species in the mix are showing signs of regrowth, especially the Prairie Grass component. Lambs are weighed individually at … Read more
This season has been incredibly wet at Bonavaree, the total average rainfall has been reached already, and there are still 4 months to go! The ewes and lambs have shown remarkable resilience to this wet, with very high lamb survival rates, even when the weather was at its worse. The ewes have lambed in very … Read more