From dry-off timing to wintering plans, feed budgeting to staffing, the choices you make now will affect both your financial outcomes and peace of mind in the year ahead.
We all know winter can be a tough, unpredictable time of year. By putting in the work now and planning well, you’ll set yourself up with contingency plans. It’s all about having plans A, B, C and D – hoping for the best but planning for the worst.
One of the biggest calls is dry-off timing. Too early, and you may compromise milk production and farm revenue; too late, and cow condition and fertility can suffer.
Wintering plans are also really important at this time of year. Now’s the time to decide where and how your cows will be wintered, whether that’s on the home farm, leased blocks or off-farm grazing.
Preparing well by picking the right paddocks for cropping, having a detailed cultivation plan, and so on, helps ensure you maintain high standards of animal welfare, while also managing any environmental risks.
It’s also the time to confirm your winter grazing agreements, ensure effluent systems are ready, and check fences and water supply are fit for purpose.
The goal is to avoid last-minute surprises and reduce stress over the colder months.
Feed budgeting and supplement strategy go hand in hand with wintering. Autumn is when you need to assess what’s in the paddocks, estimate growth over the next months, and calculate any shortfalls.
Whether it’s buying in supplements, planning silage or rationing pasture, having a clear plan helps protect both your herd and your budget. A well-structured feed strategy now makes for healthier cows, better production and fewer surprises when the weather turns.
Of course, staffing for the season ahead is another critical area to think about. Autumn is a great time to review your team’s workload, check in with sharemilkers, contractors and farm staff, and make any adjustments before the rush of winter.
Planning ahead reduces stress, keeps staff morale high and ensures everyone knows their roles when conditions get tough. Clear communication and setting expectations now make Moving Day, calving prep and winter work far smoother.
I’d encourage you to have a good chat with your team to find out how they’re doing, how you’ll manage if they need time off sick or injured, and what you can all do to look after each other through the challenging months ahead. I know you probably hear this all the time, but communication is absolutely essential.
At Federated Farmers, we know these decisions aren’t made in isolation. External factors such as weather variability, market uncertainty and changes in regulation can all affect how you plan.
That’s why advocacy matters. Over the past year, we’ve worked to secure more certainty around resource consents, ease compliance burdens, and push for environmental regulations that are practical and workable on-farm.
Federated Farmers is here to reduce the uncertainty, so you can focus on the decisions that really matter.
If you’re not already a member, I’d like to invite you to join today, so we can keep advocating for rules and regulations that let you farm with confidence instead of second-guessing what’s coming next.
That way, when the unexpected hits, you’ll know you’ve got a team behind you fighting for practical solutions, so you can get on with running a productive, resilient business.
Article supplied by Federated Farmers
