October is upon us and thankfully typical colder wet October weather looks to remain abated for another while. A quick trawl of weather forecasting websites suggests that warm mild conditions will continue until Saturday next with some light rainfall across the country and the same for the Northern half of the country on Sunday. This rain is to come from the North West - so lower temperatures are suggested for these days. Forecast for early next week suggests more rain to follow late Monday from the Southwest and subsequent higher milder temperatures.

The anticipation of a little rain is varied on different farms, wetter farms will gladfully welcome a more dry weather, whereas dry farms are now looking for that little "softness" in the ground again. Either way I think that some rainfall will stimulate an increase in growth especially after the final nitrogen applications in the past 10 days - so dare I say it a little rain is welcomed as long as it knows when to stop.

Growth rates in the past week have ranged from 55 to 67 kgDM/ha/day - generally above target for this time of year - with many reducing demand by intorducing bale silage and concentrate, this high growth has led to significant increases in farm cover. One farmer for example has increased in farm cover from 650 to 850 to 1005 kgDM/ha over the last 3 weeks. He is now almost on target again but the recommendation is to continue to keep demand low and take advantage of the current high growth rate and continue to build cover.

Thoughts should now revert to preparation for the last rotation and closing paddocks for the Winter. It is important to close approximately 60% of the farm in the first 30 days of the last rotation - this ensures a adequate and regular grass supply for the first rotation in Spring. But when should you begin closing paddocks - again the answer relates to the Winter growth potential of the farm. Dry farms with strong growth over Winter should begin closing from approximately 8-10th October. Wet cold farms require a longer period to accumulate cover over the Winter period and should begin closing paddocks 5-7 days earlier.

Now to discuss which paddocks to close first? First closed paddocks will invariably be the paddocks which will have the highest cover next February - however with low cow intakes and low demand early in February, they are likely not to be the first grazed paddocks in Spring. First grazed paddocks in Spring should be smaller paddocks close to the yard - identify these paddocks now and plan to close them when 20-30% of the farm is closed.

Another dilema arises for farms with wet and dry paddocks - which should be closed first? In preparation for the Spring, it is best to alternate closing of these wet and dry paddocks. The chances of getting an extended dry period in early grazing season allowing you to graze all the wet paddocks is slim. Therefore it is best that you graze the wet paddocks when it is dry but and change to dry paddocks if the weather changes rapidly - therefore be sure to alternate closing wet and dry paddocks through the month of October.