Romney Stocking Rate

[MF135]

Hi all quite a hard question to answer I know. But basically I am wondering if you would be able to run 500 Romney ewes and lambs (hopefully scanning at 180% and with losses 160% to weaning) and 100 replacements on 185 ac of grass. Some of the grass is old permanent pasture however the majority is new grass which is under 5 years old. The plan would be to finish as many lambs solely off of grass and sell the remainder as stores beginning of November to free up the ground. 100 ewes will be kept pure with the other 400 going to Suffolk,Texel, Charolais and Beltex Tups. Is this possible or am I just dreaming again!

Cheers MF135

 

[sticky]

@Romney_Rob

 

[gatepost]

You can run them as deep as you like, they will die back to their natural nos, they die from starvation like any other animal! joking aside work your way up in nos, but regardless of breed and hype, one sheep is another's enemy, no one can really tell you what the ideal stocking rate can be on your ground.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Hi all quite a hard question to answer I know. But basically I am wondering if you would be able to run 500 Romney ewes and lambs (hopefully scanning at 180% and with losses 160% to weaning) and 100 replacements on 185 ac of grass. Some of the grass is old permanent pasture however the majority is new grass which is under 5 years old. The plan would be to finish as many lambs solely off of grass and sell the remainder as stores beginning of November to free up the ground. 100 ewes will be kept pure with the other 400 going to Suffolk,Texel, Charolais and Beltex Tups. Is this possible or am I just dreaming again!

Cheers MF135

How much grass does it grow? 185ac in Gloucestershire will have a different stocking rate to 185ac of grass in Angus.

Use this to plan your annual feed budget, then compare it to what your ground produces.

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[Al R]

You can run them as deep as you like, they will die back to their natural nos, they die from starvation like any other animal! joking aside work your way up in nos, but regardless of breed and hype, one sheep is another's enemy, no one can really tell you what the ideal stocking rate can be on your ground.

This sums it up.
If you were buying the ewes in September, tupping them and then culling them all at weaning when lambs are 12 weeks old, you’d finish the majority of the lambs by October/November and have a big wedge for when the ewes arrive again in September.
I run 120 on 25 acre like that and I’m keeping 80 ewe lambs back from them. I do have other fields at another block incase I really run short mind.. they arrive in September and leave in early July having never left that block, no hard feeding and no silage/hay/nuts or anything. Not the best of leys either.

 

[Sheep92]

Should be no problem once the land is fairly good grassland and dry, im running 1000 ewes and 240 replacements on 240 acres, it's the wintering of them that hinges the stocking rate, are you getting them off the 180 acres cover the winter to save grass for lambing?

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Us old traditional Romney people would say that what you want to do is entirely possible, with the caveat that you must get them off for a part of the winter.
We stock at just over 5 ewes to the acre average at about 155% weaned. We separate singles from twins from before lambing, keeping singles very tight and running at around 6 plus per acre. Twins after lambing set stocked at around 4 plus per acre. All old pasture and no fertilizer (or a small amount of slow release phosphate) but the land is good having been well managed for years. However we would try to remove all of the ewes for 3 months or run at a maximum of one to the acre for the winter.

Many of the crossbred singles will finish in 10 - 12 weeks and you can then shut those weaned ewes and stock them very tight to release more grass. I would suggest that if you can grow a small acreage of fodder crops to keep an area of new ley for finishing lambs that will also help.

 

[2tractors]

Used to run 400 Highlanders rearing 185% plus 100 replacements on 115 acres, finishing all progeny DW. Had to in winter from New Year til lambing in March as the land needed a break particularly with a 60 inch rainfall!

So it will depend on your climate, fert usage, grazing management and how you overwinter. Otherwise doable.

 

[neilo]

Note, the common theme above is getting them off for the winter. That’s the key imo, whether it’s by housing, tacking or by grazing root crops.

Location is also important, with those farming on the South Coast & Pembrokeshire seeing very much shorter winter periods, when grass growth doesn’t even stop in some areas. Further North, and at higher altitudes, the whole job is different.