Grazing ewes or store lambs

what would be a better option to finish , have been given 120 acres of reasonable permanat pasture , don't want to lamb ewes on it want a quick turn round , would ewes or lambs be best don't want cheap small lambs , thinking older plain ewes be an option , people's opinions thank you
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Cull ewe trade is so variable and unpredictable the only way to sell them for a profit would he to watch the trade at markets and sell them when they are selling well. I know someone who wont sell any of his old ewes till february because the numbers are down then everyone is concentrating on lambing and numbers of culls wont be up till after lambing when the easter lamb people are getting rid of theirs. Dont know if he is any better off selling then but gives you an idea
 
Ex hill ewes would do well on decent PP , what about wintering on a headage basis ?
been there done that was fxxd over by a farmer , then next year by his brother in law long story , won't have sheep on keep again , be better to control my own ends . As for £20 costs on a ewe were did yo get that figure please , mine are way way cheaper
 
Cull ewe trade is so variable and unpredictable the only way to sell them for a profit would he to watch the trade at markets and sell them when they are selling well. I know someone who wont sell any of his old ewes till february because the numbers are down then everyone is concentrating on lambing and numbers of culls wont be up till after lambing when the easter lamb people are getting rid of theirs. Dont know if he is any better off selling then but gives you an idea
Was thinking that time , hope to keep it free to put ewes with lambs at foot back in beginning of May again hill type ewes depending how much grass growth we get
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Was thinking that time , hope to keep it free to put ewes with lambs at foot back in beginning of May again hill type ewes depending how much grass growth we get
Should work well. One thing he had started doing last time i spoke to him about it was selling anything he thought might die overwinter after he had sorted them for tupping. Complained about the price though :rolleyes:
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Mid-late March has always seen the best prices, for the last several decades anyway. Most of the culls have gone before tupping in the Autumn, those scanned barren have mostly been shifted in Jan/Feb, and those left without lambs at the end of lambing haven't hit the market yet. Always used to keep everything until then, and saw a healthy premium for doing so.(y) If you're buying, now is the time to do it, right a everyone is clearing out pre-tupping and pre-winter.
However, the cull market has changed in recent years, with less demand for well finished ewes so less of a potential uplift on decent sheep. I tend to get them gone whenever they are in good condition now, rather than let them get overfat. Lean ewes definitely worth sitting on IMO, unless they are lean for a reason of course, and getting leaner.....
I sold 20 or so Highlander culls last week as they were on the fit side already. They made £69.50, and would have been unlikely top have bettered £80 in the Spring, IME. I certainly wouldn't want to be buying that type, at that price, to make a margin on.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
You'd surely have to be wintering a little Welsh ewe (the type that can be bought for £20) extremely well to spend £20 on her.:scratchhead:

Opportunity cost of 75p per week, as that's what I can get for a ewe on tack instead.

For a 20 week winter that's £15. Hep p, a drench or two and a few losses will soon make up the other £5.
 
Should work well. One thing he had started doing last time i spoke to him about it was selling anything he thought might die overwinter after he had sorted them for tupping. Complained about the price though :rolleyes:
We will draft into lots market as fit as long as they make a bit of ££ I'm happy , so flexible on selling between mid jan , and end Feb
 

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

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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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