Been asked to go and manage a sheep unit. Lambing 600 muel ewes. (On my own) and work all year as the farmers shepherd (arable farmers) took a new farm and there's 200 acres of grass land that can only be grazed. Lambed sheep for 10 years seasonally along side being an assistant herdsman. What figure should I have in my head.thanks
Shepards wages
- Thread starter James169
- Start date
- Location
- Ceredigion, wales
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Location? Do you get a house? Car/4x4? Your own dogs?
A lot to factor in first
A lot to factor in first
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Theres quite alot around here.
Farm near here has around 4000 and 2 shepherds.
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
You're going to have some really horrendous fluctuations in labour requirements, particularly lambing inside.
A reasonable (but not really justifiable) rate would be £20 a ewe for that number, which isn't exactly a wage.
Presumably the arable side of the business will require students etc in the summer, an opportunity to spread your time.
Personally I would be pushing to be a employee within the umbrella business, with perhaps a performance related bonus for your management.
A reasonable (but not really justifiable) rate would be £20 a ewe for that number, which isn't exactly a wage.
Presumably the arable side of the business will require students etc in the summer, an opportunity to spread your time.
Personally I would be pushing to be a employee within the umbrella business, with perhaps a performance related bonus for your management.
Frankly I can't see much good in it for you, unless you are thinking to leave current job whatever happens. They want to try sheep with minimal commitment in case they don't suit, by sounds of it... which is probably fine, as long as you do not end up "collateral damage".
I was "collateral damage" as a sole shepherd on a 2000 acre estate with 1300 ewes, the agents decided to cut the sheep flock in half and just use contract labour. That was me out of a house with a wife and a son less than 12 months old. The dairy unit milking 200 soon followed, that disappeared completely along with the cowman and assistant cowman, the arable side didn't replace the two old boys that retired nor the farm manager. Just one chap on the tractors full time and all other labour as and when.
Employment is very fickle especially if they're "just trying out a sheep enterprise"
Employment is very fickle especially if they're "just trying out a sheep enterprise"
CopperBeech
Member
- Location
- A Welsh man lost in England
600 isn't going to provide you with a full time wage, or provide your employer with the ability to pay one and still have any point in having the sheep as a commercial enterprise.
There are a few ways of looking at it.
You can either go for an hourly wage type thing, a headage rate, or a fixed management fee.
You have to take into account the fact that you are not only doing the work, but presumably also providing expertise and advice etc.
Realistically though, even with the best will in the world, we would be looking at something like £1650 a month (with no house) for £600, with maybe a bonus for fat lambs if we were lucky.
So that'd be £19800 a year pre tax. Not too bad, but not fantastic, considering you have to provide your own house etc.
There are a few ways of looking at it.
You can either go for an hourly wage type thing, a headage rate, or a fixed management fee.
You have to take into account the fact that you are not only doing the work, but presumably also providing expertise and advice etc.
Realistically though, even with the best will in the world, we would be looking at something like £1650 a month (with no house) for £600, with maybe a bonus for fat lambs if we were lucky.
So that'd be £19800 a year pre tax. Not too bad, but not fantastic, considering you have to provide your own house etc.
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
£18/ewe is paid near here for self employed shepherds with own bikes and 4x4s... that's hill farms Blackie ewes
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
CopperBeech
Member
- Location
- A Welsh man lost in England
I'm not going to 'like' that, but it was the same story on a lot of estates from the 90's on, particularly in the South of the country, where the houses could be rented out for daft money.
Yep, thats a big part of the rise of external contract shepherds. . . . the estate get to keep the house that they can rent out for £12,000 a year or more!
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
I'm not going to 'like' that, but it was the same story on a lot of estates from the 90's on, particularly in the South of the country, where the houses could be rented out for daft money.
Happening up here too.
Estates just asset strip.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Most of the estates I was thinking of, ploughed up every acre they could, then expected the tractor drivers (& we all know how well that works
) to run some dry sheep on the remaining rough bits.