Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
My mates all went to NZ used to come back and say wow one man looks after 4.5k ewes etc etc etc etc, i used to think to myself good luck to them who the fuk would want to.
have rules changed regarding fat lambs and teeth ?
- Thread starter andybk
- Start date
- Location
- Fife
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
- Location
- Devon
So get rid of the ewes, let someone who can or is prepared to do it for less get on with it and you buy store lambs.
But accept that some people are prepared to, or can, do it for less .
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
It might be ! unless you have the correct labour it wont be ! and if you have the correct labour you wont make any money as it will all go on wages and you will be running aroud like a spastic keeping others in a job.
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Id say your best option would be find four or five self employed shepherds that will work together and book them for lambing and every handling event through out the year, employees on the books will end you man !
romneymarsh
Member
- Location
- Romney Marsh
So if I follow this you take his sheep in on tack ? That's just blown the labour unit /stock ratio out the window since over winter, at least , there are others in the system.
It's farm structure that limits what 'one labour unit' can do . A big ring fenced estate easy crack on . Lots of remote tack grazing , well you just run out of hours and rack up costs travelling .
romneymarsh
Member
- Location
- Romney Marsh
Returning to the subject of the original post .
I'll take credit for coming up with the date based cut off. Some 8 or so years ago at a special meeting at NFU hq Stoneliegh with the then Defra civil servants with the brief . Sitting next to a well known large store sheep fattner from E anglia I suggested that perhaps we should look at a date based scheme rather than the expensive mouthing option . At that time the suggestion was dismissed , after all pensions depended on this whole issue being perpetuated and the jury was still out on whether sheep did ever get BSE ( dependant on histology of a goat that died in 2002 in Scotland, apparently)
Anyway fast forward and the concept was gradually adopted by NFU/NSA as policy and I think , now with new staff, DEFRA/FSA are working with it but I don't think regs have changed.
The decision to ' find teeth eruption ' is now solely the responsibility of the FBO ( slaughterhouse) and so, some may , from time to time find some . I say no more.
I'll take credit for coming up with the date based cut off. Some 8 or so years ago at a special meeting at NFU hq Stoneliegh with the then Defra civil servants with the brief . Sitting next to a well known large store sheep fattner from E anglia I suggested that perhaps we should look at a date based scheme rather than the expensive mouthing option . At that time the suggestion was dismissed , after all pensions depended on this whole issue being perpetuated and the jury was still out on whether sheep did ever get BSE ( dependant on histology of a goat that died in 2002 in Scotland, apparently)
Anyway fast forward and the concept was gradually adopted by NFU/NSA as policy and I think , now with new staff, DEFRA/FSA are working with it but I don't think regs have changed.
The decision to ' find teeth eruption ' is now solely the responsibility of the FBO ( slaughterhouse) and so, some may , from time to time find some . I say no more.
romneymarsh
Member
- Location
- Romney Marsh
Necessity in the 80's was the driver . They had no choice. We maybe all in the same place in three years time. I dare say there were a lot of Kiwis , who back then, would rather have not . I do not have personal experience of those times but Kiwi friends have told be the years following the sudden end of support was not pretty for the sheep or the farmer.
We can only hope that our landing will be softer . I'm reluctant to bet on it .
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
I genuinely believe uk ag will be thrown under the bus , the only gainers will be national trust and bspb , they have professional people in the right place to influence the outcome ,The french kept the EU payment levels where they are . not nfu / nsa / etc , etc cheap food will soften the blow to the ordinary man , due to low currency exchange , exports and sales on the world market price will be the only option ,
we can sell cars / tech / finance , whatever in return for food , Service / manufacturing exports brings more jobs and more revenue to gov than farming ever will . Even inheritance tax relief might go as well . Anyone who bases forward farm incomes / borrowing on todays levels will have a sharp wake up .
Last edited:
- Location
- Fife
I got this wrong. Seasonal labour is hired in for lambing, bringing sheep to labour ratio down to 800/man.
romneymarsh
Member
- Location
- Romney Marsh
Credit to you for your correction. Worth noting that even in NZ where they quote these 000's per man . There are usually multiples there of and therefore more than a single person working and they tend to use contractors for everything . How that exactly works in the calculations I'm not sure. Big difference is lambing time when the sheep are pretty much left to it.
gone up the hill
Member
- Location
- Devon
So your chap only lambs 800 ewes a labour unit and puts many of his sheep out on tack in the winter so thus he is far from looking after 2500 ewes single handed...
I guess you will seriously have to re think your idea of lambing and looking after 3000 ewes per labour unit.
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
just shorn the shearling rams today , good strong rams many well up into the 70kg mark (better than expected )checked teeth , to find any more culls only one dec born cut or lost his teeth , yet going through the sh ewes a few weeks back , a handful of the mid late march born ones have cut and not the best ones either around the 45kg mark , just shows how random selection on teeth really is and what a nonsense piece of legislation we all have to bear
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
Any markets checking for teeth yet? What are they making less when sold?
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
quite a lot , i lost £8-10 a head made around £1.00 kg/lw ,(not usual mart) would have probally home killed if i had the time , wont make same mistake again
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
Bloody p!sstake
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
i expect butcher kill , extra £1 or so to split carcase , make cheap meat .
- Location
- N.Lincs