Sheep enterprise advise ....

Barn

Member
Ok where to start im basically after some advise and opinions on options for our sheep enterprise from you good people (yes I know this could be a can of worms!)

Having sold the suckler herd just recently as my oldman got badly knocked over by a beast, we need to look at ways to increase the income from the sheep enterprise on the farm. We currently run 450 commercial ewes a mixture of Mules, MulexTex and TexX running a Texel tup with the ewes and a Char with the Thaives and ewe lamb replacements (roughly 80 in total) Lambing all indoors from 2nd week in March, lambs all sold Fat through live auction mart and a small contract to a local quality restaurant for 8 weeks of summer supplying the top early finished lambs. Dad is retirement age but fit for his age and I work part-time off the farm at a school. We are about at capacity for numbers for the lambing indoors during the early march period.

My initial thoughts are to the following options

Look to introduce and early lambing flock Dec/Jan to increase numbers (I work part time at a school so have 4 weeks holidays during Dec)

Go down the pedigree line, again early lambing additional flock to lamb during my December "holiday" possibly Char breed?

Look towards smaller type ewes instead of the Mule which could mean being able to upp numbers during the March lambing period perhaps

Look towards the more "easycare" system and a later lambing however the March lambing works well with my Easter "holiday"

There is also the possibility of being able to obtain some more grass keep from a nearby farmer...

Thoughts and suggestions most appreciated and I will go grab a cup of tea.... :)
 
It sounds like the main deciding factor is how you want to utilise your labour. If you want to spend your holidays in the lambing shed as it's your delight then do that. If you want to spend those holidays on the slopes then you can that.

lambing later outside when there's plenty of grass can dramatically reduce the labour input (do a round before and after work and leave dad to sort things out during the day) if the right genetics are used and could significantly reduce your COP with hay, straw etc.

Depends on what makes you happy really
 

WRXppp

Member
Location
North Yorks
What sort of grassland do you have, is it all pp or some temp grass leys, whereabouts are you and do you have any arable land so able to have catch crops like stubble turnips?
 

Barn

Member
Thats a very good question Blacksheep! I do enjoy sheep work would much prefer to be working with them as opposed to kids but as things stand currently there is no income for me from our current system which just about supports my parents.

All PP (260 acres) and no arable land but possibility of potentially more grazing available on a nearby farm which would need electric fencing all land at home is stock fenced
 
Being in a warmer sunnier part of the country I'd say all options are open to you. My opinion would be that the most profitable sheep systems currently and looking towards the future would involve wintering outside on stubble crops and then lambing outside unassisted to a terminal sire that gives you bigourous lambs that grow like stink. All the hallmarks of a NZ system blah blah blah but it's hard to knock it if you can do it.

without seeing the place this doesn't mean much but you are situated somewhere that could be a good candidate for this system. If you can do maths and it pays then why not take on the neighbours grass
 

WRXppp

Member
Location
North Yorks
With the sheep you run now do you take them to finished or sell as stores? I only ask as since we have gone to high sugar ryegrass with white clover and chicory, or red clover temp leys we have got lambs away faster and at higher weights with less hard feed and free up stubble turnips for the ewes.
 

Frank-the-Wool

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
You have 260 acres of PP that should take a summer stocking rate of around a thousand ewes if the grassland is improved. You will have to find some winter grazing.
Keep it simple and so as to keep a decent standard of living find some other income to help out even if it is looking after other peoples stock.

Your Father can still do all the day to day lookering of the sheep.
Give up the indoor lambing and do everything on a minimal input. Beware those that tell you that very sheep needs to be jabbed with every possible vaccine or it will die, they will anyway!

Might be better to get a few cattle and take advice from local beef finishers who might be pleased to pay you for grazing cattle that they will finish later on.
 

Guiggs

Member
Location
Leicestershire
Could you bring in a self replacing breed such as lleyn, Romney etc? You'll cut the costs of buying in every year and the associated risks as well as being able to run more per acre!
They won't consume so much hard feed each either!
As said maybe switch to outdoor lambing if you're brave enough and don' have badgers, foxes, ravens, crows....:banghead:
 

Barn

Member
Thanks for comments so far - interesting and definitely got me thinking

Lambs currently all finished on the farm sold when fit from June through to March

PP does need some improving as its quite tired. We did rip up one field this year and set down to Chicory and Clover and was really interesting to see the lambs fly on it so will look to gradually improve the pastures as a priority

The outdoor lambing idea I would be keen for but i'm not sure about Dad but I guess if he see the costs savings this might be persuasion but we do have the dreaded Ravens, Crows, Red kites around here, Buzzards et al ....

The Lleyn Romney breed options could make sense as being able to run more per acre and cut costs is what we need to do thats for sure
 

S J H

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
I can't really see the point of lambing in March? I don't think the premium is enough of difference between April lambing. I'd be Feb if I had the buildings spare.
 

Barn

Member
SJH I do agree but im on "holiday" from my part time school job during the March Easter holiday so from a labor point of view we Lamb then and Dad says thats when we have grass to turn out onto....
 

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