Planning for upcoming winter

After the recent August heatwave winter may seem a long way off but it is important to plan for it in good time. Sheep Specialist Damian Costello advises on having adequate fodder, checking silage quality and preparing for winter housing of ewes.

In most cases sheep will be out on grass up until at least December so it is important to focus on building grass reserves for the Autumn/Winter grazing period. The unprecedented cost of fertiliser in 2022 has led to a reduction in fertiliser applied on many sheep farms but many are reporting tight grass supplies at this time. It is critical to get the last round of fertiliser applied as soon as possible – applying a half bag of protected urea per acre now will boost grass supply over the coming months.

Adequate fodder in the yard

If not already completed now is a good time to take stock of winter feed supply and complete a fodder budget taking account of all enterprises on the farm. Hopefully this will put your mind at ease that you have adequate forage conserved to carry your intended numbers over the winter period. Probably more importantly if a deficit exists it allows you time to take action now and examine the options such as:

• baling surplus covers if available
• buying in extra supplies
• selling unproductive stock
• extending the grazing season either on farm or with an off farm temporary grazing agreement.

Check out the Teagasc Interactive Grass Silage Stock Checker here

Know your silage quality

A laboratory analysis is the only way to establish the feed value of your silage. It is essential in determining the appropriate level of concentrate supplementation. Research carried out in Teagasc Athenry has highlighted the potential to reduce amount of concentrates fed to ewes in late pregnancy when high feed value silage is available. A number of representative silage samples, taken accurately and at least six weeks after ensiling, will allow you to target best quality silage to ewes in late pregnancy. Table 1 below highlights the potential savings on concentrate required with high feed value silage at a number of different concentrate prices.

Table 1:  Estimated cost of pre-lambing concentrates for twin bearing ewes at different price points over a range of baled silage feed values 

Preparation for winter housing of ewe flock

It is good practise to carry out an inspection of winter housing at this time of year with the following among the areas to focus on:

• Ensure sheep housing is thoroughly cleaned out well in advance of planned housing date ensuring enough time for it to fully dry out also
• Many sheep houses will have housed store lambs for finishing in the run up to the housing of the ewes – beware of carryover issues such as external parasites and seek veterinary advice on disinfection of all hard surface where there have been issues such as sheep scab, lice etc.
• Check feed barriers, pen dividers, gates, latches and carry out repairs as necessary
• Carry out any necessary modifications such as providing extra trough space, additional pen divisions or measures to improve ventilation
• Clean out water troughs and check for any leaking pipes and fittings – the optimum height for drinkers is 600mm from floor level to help prevent soiling by sheep
• It is also important to check that drinkers or other such obstacles are not positioned within the pens where they pose a risk of injury to ewes particularly at feeding time
• If there are any issues with lighting or power sockets have your electrician check them out
• In straw bedded sheds ensure adequate straw has been sourced to keep the environment clean and dry
• If you don’t already have one in place consider providing a work station that will include storage area for equipment, a sink with adjoining preparation area along with a simple water heating system – at a relatively modest cost this proves invaluable at lambing time

You might also like to read Complete a Fodder Budget now to Correct Winter Silage Deficits and this older article Fodder budgeting for sheep farms (PDF)  

The Teagasc Sheep Specialists, Researchers and Teagasc Advisors issue an article on a topic of interest to sheep farmers on Tuesdays here on Teagasc Daily.  Find more on Teagasc Sheep here  Teagasc provides a Local Advisory and Education service to farmers. Find your local Teagasc office here