Forward Selling Ewes and Lambs 2022

unlacedgecko

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Fife

• Jun 16, 2021

• #1

Doing some planning and business analysis. I've identified business strengths and want to play to them.

To that end, I've the embryo of an idea, forward selling ewes with lambs at foot.

Draft hill ewes with terminal lambs produced to a written contract detailing selling price, lambing date and when stock are to leave farm.

Input welcome, with potential buyers encouraged to PM or phone me.

Draft Welsh ewe with 5 week old Charollais lamb. This is the sort of thing I'm thinking. Or Shetlands, or Blackies.

 

Al R

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

West Wales

• Jun 16, 2021

• #2

Herdwicks?
I’ve got some good BFL’s if you wanted to try them and sell people a hill ewe with mule lambs

 

Anymulewilldo

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Cheshire

• Jun 16, 2021

• #3

Interesting idea. But what happens if the arse totally falls out of the sheep job between you buying the drafts and them lambing and being ready too sell? Not knocking your plan I must add. Merely looking at it from another angle

 

unlacedgecko

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Fife

• Jun 16, 2021

• #4

Anymulewilldo said:

Interesting idea. But what happens if the arse totally falls out of the sheep job between you buying the drafts and them lambing and being ready too sell? Not knocking your plan I must add. Merely looking at it from another angle

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That's the risk I'm looking to mitigate.

I don't think it will. The appeal for the buyer is having a confirmed locked in price. So, if the year is a good one they could be buying well before market price.

A written contract would protect us both.

 

unlacedgecko

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Fife

• Jun 16, 2021

• #5

Al R said:

Herdwicks?
I’ve got some good BFL’s if you wanted to try them and sell people a hill ewe with mule lambs

Click to expand...

Thank you, that's a lovely offer. But I won't have blue face blood on the farm.

If the other party wants a highly fertile maternal ewe lamb I'll use an inverdale tup.

 

CopperBeech

Member

Location

A Welsh man lost in England

• Jun 17, 2021

• #6

The problem you will always get with forward selling, is that farmers abs naturally gamblers.

 

unlacedgecko

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Fife

• Jun 17, 2021

• #7

CopperBeech said:

The problem you will always get with forward selling, is that farmers abs naturally gamblers.

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True. But loss of BPS might sharpen some minds. Forward selling plenty popular for combinables.

 

Guiggs

Member

Location

Leicestershire

• Jun 17, 2021

• #8

The biggest issue is the potential volatility of the market..
Will you be taking a non refundable deposit and what happens if for example the sheep prices drop significantly lower than the price you've already agreed and the buyer decides they don't want to take your stock?

 

unlacedgecko

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Fife

• Jun 17, 2021

• #9

Guiggs said:

The biggest issue is the potential volatility of the market..
Will you be taking a non refundable deposit and what happens if for example the sheep prices drop significantly lower than the price you've already agreed and the buyer decides they don't want to take your stock?

Click to expand...

That's what contracts are for. I'm risking markers significantly rising. They're risking markers significantly falling.

I'm seeking a nice middle ground where on average we both win every time.

 

Guiggs

Member

Location

Leicestershire

• Jun 17, 2021

• #10

I hear you but, as I'm sure you know, there's contracts and there's contracts!

 

unlacedgecko

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Fife

• Jun 17, 2021

• #11

Guiggs said:

I hear you but, as I'm sure you know, there's contracts and there's contracts!

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A non refundable deposit would help I suppose.

Plenty of t rust in what I do at the moment though. People send £10,000s of deposit and £100,000s worth of store lambs for tack. And then don't see the stock for months on end.

Just be a matter of finding the right people to work with.

 

P

Purli R

Member

• Jun 17, 2021

• #12

unlacedgecko said:

A non refundable deposit would help I suppose.

Plenty of t rust in what I do at the moment though. People send £10,000s of deposit and £100,000s worth of store lambs for tack. And then don't see the stock for months on end.

Just be a matter of finding the right people to work with.

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what if the purchaser either(before he takes delivery) dies/losses his land/gets ill/becomes insolvent etc etc. will you be stuck with em?

 

Anymulewilldo

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Cheshire

• Jun 17, 2021

• #13

Purli R said:

what if the purchaser either(before he takes delivery) dies/losses his land/gets ill/becomes insolvent etc etc. will you be stuck with em?

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Then he offloads them into Melton or Norwich and either makes a packet above the agreed price or takes a fisting below the agreed price. (In which case I would think @unlacedgecko Would bring them home and farm them out himself. Although from what I read earlier he might like it...
Where’s that emoji... was it this one?