Beef / Lamb & Pig Price Tracker

Dougalhtid

Member
Mixed Farmer
They stand by pens to mark the pens they want then the other buyers know. It helps them split the lambs up between themselves. Just locally it’s got really bad where the buyers will now openly discuss which pens they will have. Obviously doesn’t happen on the stores or if a farmer wants some cull ewes
Depends how good the auctioneer is. If he’s living on cash that’s exactly how it works
 

goodevans

Member
What are you feeding that alongside?! I've been looking at the co-products for the coming winter. I should have 300+t of barley in the shed and can't decide whether to feed or sell. I'm guessing I'd be no better off selling and then feeding co-products as they just track cereal price anyway?!
And transport both ways,just depends when by products are priced against grain
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
If you've got 20 lambs in a pen and you want to sell them as say 8,8,4 how do you do that if they're all lumped in together? It's not unusual in the ring if 20 come in for buyers to ask for one to be taken out. You can't show the lambs properly if they're all jammed in together. I would have thought the buyers will bid to the price of the poorest in the pen. If the mart is well organised it will be just as quick going through a ring as along a gantry and a lot easier for the auctioneer and clerk if they're not on their feet for 3 hours😂
3 hours?! Must be a small sale! 😂
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
I would say the vast majority of lambs south of Derbyshire are sold in pens. All fine selling lambs through a ring if well set up and plenty of staff, but weighing, penning and then running 2/3000 lambs back round through a ring is a lot of work. The only pens I don't like are Melton's as they are deep and narrow. It's easy enough in most pens to handle lambs and push them round. Can guarantee the worst one will always make its way to the front of the pen.
I would think volume wise there are a lot more fat sheep through the ring than pens? All Scotland and northern England with the odd exception. The Marts I use the scales are the last thing before the ring. All sorted before the ring and away you go. But it requires a different sort of mart staff than the ones that just run weighed and sorted sheep into pens for sale
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Lambs would weigh less sold in the ring wouldnt they,( especially if weighed at point of sale like cattle ) ? could that be the attraction of buying at midnight after watching a long queue to unload ?
The buyers know the lambs k/o better so they pay that bit more… obviously only works if you’ve a ring full of buyers, not 1 man and a couple of small fry
 
In the prime stock marts I sell sheep in the buyers know who sells regularly and they know what the sheep handle and ko like. They look at the board and if no name is on the board they ask who’s sheep they are. It’s surprising how they remember who’s sheep do what but it’s their job to I suppose
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
In the prime stock marts I sell sheep in the buyers know who sells regularly and they know what the sheep handle and ko like. They look at the board and if no name is on the board they ask who’s sheep they are. It’s surprising how they remember who’s sheep do what but it’s their job to I suppose
It’s all about doing your job properly and that good reputation.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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