Beef / Lamb & Pig Price Tracker

[Farmer1001]

Isn't it fantastic that these Hoggets are all now worth so much money and I doubt anyone actually thought they would go to these levels immediately we left the EU completely.
However a little analysis of the situation might be sensible before too much talk of the £200 hogget.

Why have the prices increased so much in a little over a week?
I would suggest that the main driver is shortage which was caused by people hedging their best before a decision was made about tariffs, so numbers had been drawn out to kill pre Christmas when the price is normally good and was to the previous few weeks if one looks at the numbers.
Are these prices sustainable?
At levels around £5.00 deadweight then yes, however with some now heading towards £6.00 it is unlikely unless export demand drives the price on a once again weakening pound against the euro.
Exports are NOT going smoothly and if the issue of Health Certificates and Vets is resolved quickly then we should see a more level trade which will be good for everyone. However this is not fully resolved yet and up to now volumes through the ports have only been a fraction of normal.
Exports are still the driver of price for lamb/hogget.

The butchers I supply have cut their lamb orders by over 50% as they have plenty of cheap Pork and Beef which they can sell more easily at a better profit. Most of the Beef is being minced anyway!!

One thing I have learnt over the many years of selling sheep is that if you are making a good profit then take it. Speculation that they will be dearer next week does not always occur.
I don't see the price crashing in January or February as the numbers are short enough and the weather is against too many sheep finishing quickly but I won't be waiting for the £200 hoggets!

An excellent post. Ultimately the sheep job is such a rollercoaster there is little we can do about it, but make mistake (edit) not all butchers cant make money out of £150 hoggs, and we need butchers more than ever at a time supermarkets close meat counters and promote plant based high return highly processed alternatives. Lambs will be ok for a bit but its not sustainable without serious exports or a British butcher adding serious value or the pig job getting better. It wont help the lamb job as long as a 50kg pig carcass is making £80 against a 21kg lamb carcass at £110/£115. (edit) after reading @Smith31 post, I have no doubt certain sectors will pay seriously good money for "some" of what we produce, indeed we can make as much if not more from the faggots as we can the whole legs but the market for faggots is much smaller than legs. We need to get like NZ and start marketing and promoting lamb and get away from just selling lambs.

 

[ImLost]

Non stun takes 5 seconds longer at the end of an animals life, what calculations are you using to quantify harm which conclude that the suffering is so great that it should be banned.

Let the vegan brigade install cameras on your farm, or let an abattoir vet inspect your farm on a daily basis, I bet they find animals which are in pain for alot longer then 5 seconds, should the law ban you from farming too?

An alternative way of putting it I guess.

However, I would hope all the animals on my farm wouldnt be in pain, and if they were I would either administer pain killers at the soonest available opportunity or if it is suffering that much, despatch it.

I think the real difference between what you are saying about animals being in pain whilst on a farm and animals being slaughtered without stunning is we are choosing to put animals going to non stun slaughter through unnecessary suffering when the option to stun is there.

To balance this out, I do obviously understand there is a gap in the market which requires non stun slaughter, and we would probably see the likes of stolen sheep cases rise if we weren't to offer it, with the sheep that are stolen going through a lot more distress than being processed professionally at a non stun abbatoir.

It is a difficult subject with a lot of grey areas.

 

[Jerry]

Caught the last few pens of stores in Exeter.

Mental trade. Nearly Nothing I saw was under £90 and top I saw was 120.

these 35kg lambs made £88

 

[Shebb90]

Caught the last few pens of stores in Exeter.

Mental trade. Nearly Nothing I saw was under £90 and top I saw was 120.

these 35kg lambs made £88

View attachment 932278

Many in

 

[d williams]

The Brexit/export tariff uncertainty did mean that some export abattoirs reduced numbers in the chillers, which are being built up again this has positively impacted on prices.

I will stick my head out and say £200 a hoggett is sustainable, we have a massive halal sheep trade both home and export, who will always eat sheep meat and will become accustom to the higher prices over time.

The problem is that supermarkets will promote chicken and pork in order to drag lamb prices back down before long.

Or have A greater percentage Profits on cheaper products and not give British products the shelve space they should have

 

[Jerry]

Many in

about average I guess

 

[Greythundercloudys]

88£, for 35kgs, 150£ come march. There must be a turn in them, even at that price.

 

[Ross121]

Lambs will be £6 per kg by end of the month
They’re like gold dust

 

[Greythundercloudys]

I guy up here has 10,000 to sell in march, he's not a dealer, everything goes in 2 or 3 weeks in march. He would be averaging 75£ for stores. Big money.

 

[organic]

Apparantly a pen of 45 kgs lambs made £135 at Talgarth this morning.

 

[texelburger]

The only issue that is of fear to me is Covid in slaughterhouses

Agreed,or if Covid gets significantly worse might we see a export ban ?
Hope not

 

[livestock 1]

Agreed,or if Covid gets significantly worse might we see a export ban ?
Hope not

I never thought of an export ban just interruption on slaughter lines etc

 

[livestock 1]

I guy up here has 10,000 to sell in march, he's not a dealer, everything goes in 2 or 3 weeks in march. He would be averaging 75£ for stores. Big money.

Whe is that?

 

[livestock 1]

Caught the last few pens of stores in Exeter.

Mental trade. Nearly Nothing I saw was under £90 and top I saw was 120.

these 35kg lambs made £88

View attachment 932278

Might be cheaper than stores not sure

 

[copse]

Had half lorry load of hoggs away to RPf beginning of week at £5 and they have paid them at £5.40 as trade had gone dear .

 

[hill farmer]

Apparantly a pen of 45 kgs lambs made £135 at Talgarth this morning.

Son took a few real tail enders down, 5 little ewe lambs only 27kg that made just over £2.40/kg and a single tup lamb that he fetched home 3 weeks ago out of a bunch of 32kgs that had made about £68 (he didn.t look 'right'), fine when he got him home. He was 34kg today and made £88

 

[Smith31]

you can send them here anytime

An alternative way of putting it I guess.

However, I would hope all the animals on my farm wouldnt be in pain, and if they were I would either administer pain killers at the soonest available opportunity or if it is suffering that much, despatch it.

I think the real difference between what you are saying about animals being in pain whilst on a farm and animals being slaughtered without stunning is we are choosing to put animals going to non stun slaughter through unnecessary suffering when the option to stun is there.

To balance this out, I do obviously understand there is a gap in the market which requires non stun slaughter, and we would probably see the likes of stolen sheep cases rise if we weren't to offer it, with the sheep that are stolen going through a lot more distress than being processed professionally at a non stun abbatoir.

It is a difficult subject with a lot of grey areas.

There is no link between stolen sheep and the halal trade, the vast majority of folk who are convicted of sheep thefts are ex farm employees or Eastern Europeans. I know farmers who have farms surrounded by ethnic communities and have never had an animal go missing.

It wouldn't be halal or kosher if the animal was stolen!

 

[Greythundercloudys]

Turnbell.

 

[gone up the hill]

Many in

Less than the few weeks pre Xmas i reckon.

Trade was certainly strong for store lambs, top i saw was i think £128 head. pen after pen £110/120 etc.

 

[gone up the hill]

Any clean beef prices for next week? up/down?