Sole living from sheep ,Flock size

[Estate fencing.]

Maybe if the premium was calculated per kg of lamb sold, that wouldn't be a problem.

But then people would just get massive lambs/hoggs that there isn't a demand for.

 

[S J H]

But then people would just get massive lambs/hoggs that there isn't a demand for.

It depends if the headage kg payment covered the cost of feeding.

I don‘t want subsidies, but to me it’s the fairest way to give them. It won’t happen though, as subsidies have absolutely sod all to do with ‘security of food production.‘

 

[Estate fencing.]

If we went down that route it would need a "quality" element , or eveything would be overrun with shetlands and the like , not that there is anything wrong with them in the right place / system , but would knacker the industry if it was just any old sheep on an acre .

You idea of "quality" is probably very different to mine, mine is a 40kg welsh ewe that has only been handled 3 times a year with 2 32kg Suffolk lambs on her.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

My sole living comes from my sheep really, no subs claimed, and just a little bit of contract cattle work for someone else. But that’s mainly done to keep my staff member in hours. It’s the cost of renting my house which is the killer and takes about 20k out straight away.

housing is far too expensive, not sure how that can be remedied

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Why did the UK give up headage payments on livestock? They are now banging on about "rewarding farmers who provide public goods".

Public goods like attractive countryside and secure food supplies? They could start by bringing back headage payments or would it hurt too much to think the french were right all along.

I wonder if lobbying by large landowners who don't farm themselves was anything to do with that? I am thinking of NT, RSPB etc?

 

[nxy]

housing is far too expensive, not sure how that can be remedied

There is a simple answer to that one, hand out more planning permission for rural housing.

Farmers can build a house on their land here without much fuss and young farmers (under 40 plus one year for each child) get a 20% grant paid by the local council to build.

 

[andybk]

You idea of "quality" is probably very different to mine, mine is a 40kg welsh ewe that has only been handled 3 times a year with 2 32kg Suffolk lambs on her.

not sure it is , thats fine , my worries is any old breed or cross just farmed for the sub .

 

[neilo]

You idea of "quality" is probably very different to mine, mine is a 40kg welsh ewe that has only been handled 3 times a year with 2 32kg Suffolk lambs on her.

We already have a means of measuring ‘quality’, in the SQQ.

 

[Tim W]

Grow up everyone
Forget subsidy
The question in OP is about farming not scrounging
It's how many ewes do you need to make a living'' not '' how much dole can i claim whilst enjoying my pet sheep''

 

[andybk]

Grow up everyone
Forget subsidy
The question in OP is about farming not scrounging
It's how many ewes do you need to make a living'' not '' how much dole can i claim whilst enjoying my pet sheep''

But that goes hand in hand with the supermarkets understanding what it costs to produce a lamb and the benefits or cost to the environment ,

 

[Farmer_Joe]

That doesn’t really help with the not wanting anymore kids part of the problem Like I’m not joking… she came off the pill for 1 week 2 years ago because her doctor said she needed to have a week off it too reset her hormones or something stupid like that… did the deed once in that week and got her f**king pregnant

Get it done it’s really not that bad I went about 3 weeks after number 4 was born that was plenty for me.

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

Grow up everyone
Forget subsidy
The question in OP is about farming not scrounging
It's how many ewes do you need to make a living'' not '' how much dole can i claim whilst enjoying my pet sheep''

The purpose of subsidies is to keep any nationS food supply constant, and the people that produce it in business, ( or at least it should be ) because although it’s an inconvenient truth to some people, we all need to eat ,something ,three times a day ( even Vegans ).
I very much admire what you do Tim, but even the most efficient system couldn’t stand selling lambs at £40 for very long if market forces took the price in that direction.

 

[sheepwise]

Yep , around 150 pure charollais ewes (selling rams off farm ) 25 zwartbles , plus followers ,most lambs kept 12months at least , farming 120ac some rented , some free (cant be farmed properly but kept tidy ) we own the farm and buildings , run on landlords cover / catch crops over winter and neighbours ex dairy grass till feb , Not a big income but enough to invest a bit every year in old kit lol . All machinery and maintenance done in house (built my own house ) , been doing the same since 1980s ,

Edit : we did used to run 100 poll dorset x charollais for early lambing in nov , and 400 shb ewes for march lambing all put back to charollais or suff , but was difficult with MV accreditation and management of best grass for ram production.

Not being cheeky, but there must be times of the year when you aren't too busy. Do you do other work?

 

[nxy]

Grow up everyone
Forget subsidy
The question in OP is about farming not scrounging
It's how many ewes do you need to make a living'' not '' how much dole can i claim whilst enjoying my pet sheep''

I would need some pretty hefty "compensation" to encourage me back to livestock farming in the UK. Its only when I left I realized what a pain in the arse it was.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Grow up everyone
Forget subsidy
The question in OP is about farming not scrounging
It's how many ewes do you need to make a living'' not '' how much dole can i claim whilst enjoying my pet sheep''

But that is rolling over and letting government, misinformed general public and supermarkets, dictate. We have to fight to make sure we are not at the bottom of the queue all the time. People have to be made aware that they cannot expect to be provided with food with no regard to the producers. That food security is important and needs protecting in some way. We need the NFU to be more militant on this. I know what you say is the main marketing strategy for your sheep, so you have an interest in promoting this view. However it is not good for the long term future of food production in this country

 

[CopperBeech]

Grow up everyone
Forget subsidy
The question in OP is about farming not scrounging
It's how many ewes do you need to make a living'' not '' how much dole can i claim whilst enjoying my pet sheep''

I was just thinking that. A lot of this thread seems to be farmers who have farms, have stock etc. Saying they can’t make money from the farming but they do quite like living on a farm etc.

Id love to live on a farm wouldnt we all.

But I find it mind boggling how some folk seem to struggle to make anything of what they have whilst others with much less are making more of it.

 

[unlacedgecko]

The purpose of subsidies is to keep any nationS food supply constant, and the people that produce it in business, ( or at least it should be ) because although it’s an inconvenient truth to some people, we all need to eat ,something ,three times a day ( even Vegans ).
I very much admire what you do Tim, but even the most efficient system couldn’t stand selling lambs at £40 for very long if market forces took the price in that direction.

No it's not. The purpose of subsidy is to transfer wealth from the tax payer to the landowner.

 

[CopperBeech]

So what is best for the long term, for this country ..... is to keep paying tax payer money to farmers who can’t make it pay on its own right ..... so they can maintain their life style ? It can’t be about food security because there are plenty of us producing a lot of food who’d happily step into those peoples places !

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

No it's not. The purpose of subsidy is to transfer wealth from the tax payer to the landowner.

That's not the purpose of subsidy. The purpose of subsidy is to make food available to the masses at below the real cost of production. The problem is the administration of those subsidies is skewed towards the landowner rather than the producer. That needs to change

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

No it's not. The purpose of subsidy is to transfer wealth from the tax payer to the landowner.

I was making a point of how a subsidy system should be , not necessarily as it is now ,if read back.