Best time to sell ewes. Scanned in lamb or lambs at foot?

gower_webb

New Member
Afternoon all. We are planning on reducing our flock and wondering when is the best time to sell them. Sell them scanned in lamb or after they have lambed with lambs at foot but what age would the lambs need to be. Thanks in advance for the advice
 
Location
Devon
You'll make more by selling them with lambs at foot.

In theory yes but you need to allow for all costs to come off the sale price, ewes with lambs at foot are currently making £55/60 life down here, at that price nearly all the costs/ extra work will have to come off any that have twins which wont leave much more profit ( if any ) than selling in lamb.

Local sale of early in lamb ewes the other day and they were all around the £130/140 mark apparently.

Also if grass is short in the spring then ewes and lambs will take a knock trade wise.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
In theory yes but you need to allow for all costs to come off the sale price, ewes with lambs at foot are currently making £55/60 life down here, at that price nearly all the costs/ extra work will have to come off any that have twins which wont leave much more profit ( if any ) than selling in lamb.

Local sale of early in lamb ewes the other day and they were all around the £130/140 mark apparently.

Also if grass is short in the spring then ewes and lambs will take a knock trade wise.


In April/early May here lambs at foot - nothing special were making £65/life. Lambs were 2-3 weeks?
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Make more selling wuth lambs at foot but id think about selling twins in lamb and singles with lamb at foot spread the risk a bit. The singles will be easier and cheaper to lamb than the twins and he singles will do better to sell with a lamb at foot. If you get a poor spring you might he kicking yourself for keeping them all to sell with lambs at foot, you will he struggling to feed them for the first 3 weeks and no one will want them as they have no grass to feed them either.
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Yes, does sound better and their report is backed up by a first hand account I've had.

Been through my lambs today... haven't drawn weights, just anything that's fit (back in tomorrow for weighing). Seriously considering a load of fit lighter lambs away store at current trade (n) Ito save clipping them, too!

I had fed some for about a month mid August - Mid September (they are gone now) but the mess they were making I didn't feed the rest... fairly reluctant to start again:oops:
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.0%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 28 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.3%

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

  • 1,286
  • 1
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/
Top