How much does your market under declare lamb weight?

[MRT]

What I want to know is;

10 x Lleyn ewe lambs scanned empty creep fed indoors for a couple of weeks and presented at market this morning weighed 473kg on the market scales. Dry lambs on a dry day, clean, belly clipped/crutched looking well

"47 kg" I was told at the scales (understandable to round down to the nearest half kg - three kg lost) saw them penned and as I was leaving a drover runs over to say actually there was a smaller one (there was) to be sold separately at 41kg. Ok. He handed me a folded sheet of headed card that the weights were recorded on and not only has one become 41kg but the average weight of the remaining 9 had dropped to 46.5kg (original weights tipexed out!)

459.5kg declared vs. 473kg weighed

= 13.5kg under declared according to the market scales or 1.35kg per lamb

Is this the norm/convention? Everyone treated the same so buyers know so no affect?
Does it matter as they are over 40kg anyway ie. wont affect the price?
Is life too short to worry about less than 3%?

 

[GrannyAching]

It's just really annoying isn't it because it's all one way - or so it seems?

 

[Henarar]

were they sold by weight ?

 

[multi power]

were they sold by weight ?

If so then it's fruad

 

[Hampton]

Were you there when they weighed them?
If not, make them re weigh them. Individually if necessary

 

[Hughesy]

This is one of my real pet hates!! I can't stand anyone trying to knock or devalue something that I have worked hard to produce! Its the way they do it as if to say 'be thankful you got that much' manner! They should be glad i turned up with lambs, its these lambs that give them a pay cheque!! Rant over!!

I doubt very much it effects the price really, but its the principal!!

 

[MRT]

were they sold by weight ?

Weights are announced with FA status then bidding in £ not PPK

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Good job you don't sell cattle

 

[yellowbelly]

It's a total p!ss take.
They do it so their Eblex figures look good - the buyers know they're getting more for their money ('cos they know hoggs from a market that does this appear to kill out better) therefore they pay a touch more for them than they would in a market that doesn't 'cheat' the scales. When you divide the price per head by the lower weight it makes the price in p/kg look artificially higher, hence making the market look good when compared on the Eblex website.

 

[fieldfarmer]

Yeah , should have asked them to re way the 9, its hassle for them and they wouldn't alter the weights on you again. If they wanted the small one out should have been done at the scales, would have been easy there to remove him reweigh the remaining 9 then do the maths, and put him in the same pen. Its right for every one.

 

[speedy]

We took some lambs into market a couple of weeks ago. We weighed one that was sold as a single at 54KG on the Sunday when it was wet, took it to market on Monday and it weighed 44kg so ask to reweigh and it was 39.5kg, couldn't believe it so ask to weigh for a third time and it wieghed 50.5kg all within the hour on a single lamb, so we sold it but I can not believe how they get away it!!

 

[Northeastfarmer]

To be fair to the markets there's always stories about a couple of lambs in a deadweight consignment weighing abnormally light or grading poorly

 

[Keepers]

I took 18 lambs this week, all strong abermax x mule lambs all weighed over 50kgs, most mid 50s if they were 49.5 they were sent dead to dunbia, only properly above 50kgs went live

They were dry in a shed, they ended up weighing 48kgs at the market.... not sure how that happened

 

[MJT]

Drives me barmy too ! Weigh our lambs empty over electronic scales (accuracy checked with 40kg tractor weight every time ), pulling out everything 41kg and above (only a few that are more than 43kg). It's a miracle if the lambs aren't 39-39.5kg at market, Ive even weighed them literally as in loading just to check .

 

[exmoor dave]

This does annoy me too, but I weighed lambs then shut some in for half a day and for some reason had to weigh them again and they were anything up to 3kg lighter,
All EID recorded so I know what lost what.
They do carry alot more weight in their gut than you would think.

 

[GTB]

This is why I never sell live. On the dead you get paid for actual weight.

 

[borntohunt]

Agree this happens at 2 local markets. No good trading standards checking scale it will weigh correctly. They should check lambs weight after market has announced / declared their weight

 

[MJT]

This does annoy me too, but I weighed lambs then shut some in for half a day and for some reason had to weigh them again and they were anything up to 3kg lighter,
All EID recorded so I know what lost what.
They do carry alot more weight in their gut than you would think.

Yes I agree and I could understand if I'd shut them in and held them tight . But when you weigh them and then the market weigh them again sometimes within 25 minutes, there no way they've lost 2-3kg.

 

[Victor]

Proverbs ch 11 v 1 Should be put up above every weighbridge.

 

[Nithsdale]

If so then it's fruad

Happens in every live market in the country.