anyone got realistic profit margins on lambs/calves on pasture raised system

[Chasingmytail]

Im struggling to work out how you make a living off stock as it is.

With 30 suckler herd and 100 ewes we are understocked however the money to invest in rebuilding our herd/flock will entirely come from our profitable construction business. History repeating itself as the farm was always subsidised by the contracting.

Am I missing something here but the margins are for what I see - pitiful

 

[KMA]

No longer farming (sucklers and hill ewes) but I suspect your figures are probably correct. I miss the stock but none of the rest of the pile of poo the industry has descended into. Even if I had the ground I'd only carry enough stock for our own needs.

 

[Tim W]

Like many things ---if you do it right the margins can be fair. If you get it wrong you will loose plenty
Key decisions are (in my experience);
1) marketing ----direct with added value or as a commodity
2) If its with added value then over 50% of your effort will be on marketing
If its as a commodity then it can become a numbers game with an emphasis on minimising inputs
What many people are afraid to grasp is that reduced inputs can mean reduced outputs but often more profit with less risk

My margins are ok (so far) on a grass system (grazing only for 25+ years) and many of my customers have decent margins too (without subsidy)

 

[Chasingmytail]

I thinking there isnt much difference to a conventional system because what you make up in one you lose in another. Im no longer convinced in the total pasture fed. Again great if you have amazing stock incl genes and of course the numbers. To top up with some cake has to be necessary unless you have prime first class stock which comes at a premium and will take years to achieve.

No quite sure what you mean by 'marketing'? Starting out (again) not interested in selling meat it carries too much labour and investment. If yr selling stock again this has taken you considerable yrs to achieve.

Selling direct to market is just the same whether you are pasture or conventional. If people are making decent margins depends on what you equate as 'decent' that it pays for a family to live well circa £45k plus. Sadly not to go off on one a well AA steer thats not heavy going to market off a pasture fed will not be close to a stuffed one but depends on the overall inputs. If we get £600 then it means we have just broke even. Carrying the PLFA logo carries no clout at all. Im concentrating on the organic side of the meat which I feel has more of a demand. Finding niche markets is difficult. Whether the purchaser wants to pay a premium for that little extra? Still feel the margins are incredibly tight compared to working off the farm (poss part time).

 

[Tim W]

@Chasingmytail

Sorry I may have misread you ---I was not talking about PFLA certified (I agree with you about the PFLA logo ---but may be proved wrong in the future? ) but rather just about the financial benefits of a simple low input red meat production system

At the end of the day margins are tight compared to many off farm activities but a living can be made if done right but there are many people doing it well and making money off grass systems (sold into the conventional market)
There will be more doing this in the near future I believe