Lamb price falling like a stone.

[Woolly]

This year will be about 100 lambs, up from about 40 last year.

I sell more live earlier in the season when prices are higher at market and then switch over to box sales for the tail enders.

Exception to that is regular orders with restaurants, I try and keep them going as son as I have lamb ready. I may loose out a little early on to live sales but they will carry on buying well after the price drips and I get other sales of the back of them with my name on the menu.

Very impressive - got to be the way to go.

How do you find your customers? Do you have any particular selling points, organic, pasture fed etc.… ?

 

[It was already broken.]

Very impressive - got to be the way to go.

How do you find your customers?

He has learnt a few words of arabic and gets down to the local mosque on a Friday. You should give it a try.

 

[Jerry]

Very impressive - got to be the way to go.

How do you find your customers? Do you have any particular selling points, organic, pasture fed etc.… ?

Mainly through social media, especially Facebook. Ive just started to use Instagram as well and that looks promising.

Twitter not so much even, though I have 1000 followers, they tend to be other farmers.

There is a website but I dont take orders through it, its there so I can point people to it to give a bit more info and they can see the story.

People like a story, like to see what is going on with the sheep. They genuinely dont understand farming and food production but will buy into the effort that goes into it if you get it right. I managed to get a post to go viral on Facebook and picked up 100's of followers in a couple of hours that turned into over 1000 new followers in a couple of days.

Customers mainly fall into 2 brackets, the older generation who know how to cook and dont buy ready meals, and younger well off people who like the idea of local food with a provenance. But if I have a whole lamb minced I sell the lot almost straight away but will only do that to the local village as its too much running around. Use it as a bit of a loss leader though as it does help bring follow up orders.

 

[Jerry]

He has learnt a few words of arabic and gets down to the local mosque on a Friday. You should give it a try.

Funny enough, I was approached by a couple of gentlemen who wanted lamb for the local muslim population, most were young students from exeter Uni. I spoke to them and said my abbatoir is not geared up to Halal and I was uncomfortable with it. They fully understood and said that as long as one of hem was present he would say the necessary and they would be happy though they wanted the whole carcass there and then not hung.

I spoke to the abbatoir and they were OK with it but the vet inspectors not so so unfortunately it never went ahead. It would have been a nice extra few lambs a year. Still conventionally slaughtered, no cutting costs and no delivery.

 

[Woolly]

Mainly through social media, especially Facebook. Ive just started to use Instagram as well and that looks promising.

Twitter not so much even, though I have 1000 followers, they tend to be other farmers.

There is a website but I dont take orders through it, its there so I can point people to it to give a bit more info and they can see the story.

People like a story, like to see what is going on with the sheep. They genuinely dont understand farming and food production but will buy into the effort that goes into it if you get it right. I managed to get a post to go viral on Facebook and picked up 100's of followers in a couple of hours that turned into over 1000 new followers in a couple of days.

Customers mainly fall into 2 brackets, the older generation who know how to cook and dont buy ready meals, and younger well off people who like the idea of local food with a provenance. But if I have a whole lamb minced I sell the lot almost straight away but will only do that to the local village as its too much running around. Use it as a bit of a loss leader though as it does help bring follow up orders.

Think I found your website - well put together. Great testimonials!

I guess you're well-placed near population centres. Do you let peeps visit your farm?

Have you considered using the Food Assembly at Jacobstow (may be a bit far)? Or even starting one?

What are your thoughts on spring lamb vs hoggets? Some say hoggets taste better and are arguably more natural/ethical as they have more time to grow and be 'sheep'?

A matter of time before you expand your product range perhaps....?

Keep up the great work - who needs supermarkets!?

 

[Jerry]

Think I found your website - well put together. Great testimonials!

I guess you're well-placed near population centres. Do you let peeps visit your farm?

Have you considered using the Food Assembly at Jacobstow (may be a bit far)? Or even starting one?

What are your thoughts on spring lamb vs hoggets? Some say hoggets taste better and are arguably more natural/ethical as they have more time to be 'sheep'?

A matter of time before you expand your product range perhaps....? Keep up the great work.

Hope it’s the right website. .

But thanks. Yes I have a couple customers who want hogget as they prefer the flavour. One will also take a cull ewe for same reason.

People can come and collect the lamb if they wish. I also had an open day during lambing, probably doing the same this lambing season coming as well.

I’m lucky location wise to have a large “village” on my doorstep. It’s really a commuter “suburb “ to Exeter and growing all the time. Keep telling the kids not to sell the farm unless it’s for development after I’m gone.

 

[firther]

doesn't seem that long ago that some posters on here were complaining that prices were too high, funny how they've gone quiet now

 

[sheepwise]

doesn't seem that long ago that some posters on here were complaining that prices were too high, funny how they've gone quiet now

Aye but maybe they were right as the processors are now attempting to claw back the losses they made in the spring.

 

[Al R]

Didn’t Dunbia say that lamb wouldn’t go under £5/kg until after September?

 

[Woolless]

Didn’t Dunbia say that lamb wouldn’t go under £5/kg until after September?

That's what was reported. Struggling to stay above £4 now!

 

[andybk]

doesn't seem that long ago that some posters on here were complaining that prices were too high, funny how they've gone quiet now

thats the problem with high prices , just encourages people to push them on , (over supply) but there is only the same amount of lambs on the ground , no doubt many of these fed lambs unfinished will end up store , but i can see a shortage by about nov , the question that we will need to know is volume of imports through winter

 

[Green farmer]

but i can see a shortage by about nov , the question that we will need to know is volume of imports through winter

I think your right. The amount of losses this spring has to catch up with numbers available this winter. But we’ll need high prices, to make up for the increased cost of finishing them as fodder / straw etc, ain’t going to be cheap or plentiful either.

 

[neilo]

doesn't seem that long ago that some posters on here were complaining that prices were too high, funny how they've gone quiet now

I seem to remember those posters were suggesting that unsustainably high prices made lamb even less competitive against beef, and (especially) pork & chicken, leading to more buyers moving to those meats in preference.
If that happened, it would be reflected in lower demand for sheepmeat going forward..... I hope it’s not happening already.

 

[firther]

I seem to remember those posters were suggesting that unsustainably high prices made lamb even less competitive against beef, and (especially) pork & chicken, leading to more buyers moving to those meats in preference.
If that happened, it would be reflected in lower demand for sheepmeat going forward..... I hope it’s not happening already.

i agree it was too high at its peak, but how many months an years have we had too low prices like 55/60 quid. global demand is increasing for lamb and is set to continue increasing, surely an average of a £100 lamb isn't too much to ask in 2018 when a pint of lager is £5 and a takeaway pizza can cost a tenner

 

[firther]

thats the problem with high prices , just encourages people to push them on , (over supply) but there is only the same amount of lambs on the ground , no doubt many of these fed lambs unfinished will end up store , but i can see a shortage by about nov , the question that we will need to know is volume of imports through winter

mine are staying grass reared hopefully as long as we get some rain here and there

 

[Al R]

mine are staying grass reared hopefully as long as we get some rain here and there

We havnt fed anything but milk and grass, it could be why they’ve been killing out far lighter than they should. We’re still wishing for some rain so we can finish the lambs.

 

[firther]

We havnt fed anything but milk and grass, it could be why they’ve been killing out far lighter than they should. We’re still wishing for some rain so we can finish the lambs.

I've never known fields so brown around here, I can't really remember 76 as I were only a wee nipper

 

[Al R]

I've never known fields so brown around here, I can't really remember 76 as I were only a wee nipper

It’s a few years before my time, we had 5 irrigation setups back then so it wasn’t as big of a deal for my family. I still have 2 irrigation setups that havnt been used in 20+ years but weve kept thinking it will surely rain soon so havnt bothered.. the ewes are eating 3 bales a day of silage and the fields their in are definitely building the fertility up

 

[jellybean]

i agree it was too high at its peak, but how many months an years have we had too low prices like 55/60 quid. global demand is increasing for lamb and is set to continue increasing, surely an average of a £100 lamb isn't too much to ask in 2018 when a pint of lager is £5 and a takeaway pizza can cost a tenner

Yes but you surely wouldn't pay those prices would you?

 

[firther]

Yes but you surely wouldn't pay those prices would you?

no I wouldn't , i'm a Yorkshire man so means I have more sense plenty do pay them prices though