Store lamb calculation help

[Humble Village Farmer]

Grow a cover crop mix with turnips in and contact a trusted local sheep farmer and do a deal. That way, if you decide not to do it again, you won't have a truck full of nearly new tangled up with dead sheep electric fencing to get rid of.Once you have done that for a couple of years you could think about buying your own. From experience, if you have a good partner it is more rewarding than learning the hard way on your own. Plus with an old hand at your side you're much more likely to avoid school boy errors and actually make a profit.

 

[JoeHodgey]

Grow a cover crop mix with turnips in and contact a trusted local sheep farmer and do a deal. That way, if you decide not to do it again, you won't have a truck full of nearly new tangled up with dead sheep electric fencing to get rid of.Once you have done that for a couple of years you could think about buying your own. From experience, if you have a good partner it is more rewarding than learning the hard way on your own. Plus with an old hand at your side you're much more likely to avoid school boy errors and actually make a profit.

Thank you excellent advice. Theory is one thing but practice is defiantly another.

 

[ARW]

To make money out of store lambs you need to be able to fatten them over the depth of winter, what’s your land like?
the best land is blow away sand, it gives them somewhere dry to lie down , if it’s wet cold clay they will stand with there backs up losing condition covered in mud

 

[Will 1594]

@Will 1594 Thanks, im more in the planning/thinking stage of what i want to do in the future. You grow stubble turnips for him? or you buy the animals off him?

@Woolless @Skintagain Okay thanks for the advice, like i say ^^ still in the ideas stage. Late summer when store prices come down? Do you know anyone who does this I could speak to? Thanks

He supplys seed we put it on , put bit fert on ,and he brings sheep , ,if younwant to buy lambs ,speak to emma at border livestock exchange ,they send a lot down here come have a look when we get the white lice

 

[Woolless]

He supplys seed we put it on , put bit fert on ,and he brings sheep , ,if younwant to buy lambs ,speak to emma at border livestock exchange ,they send a lot down here come have a look when we get the white lice

Whereabouts are you?

 

[livestock 1]

Thanks for the tag


@JoeHodgey rotational grazing (of grass and/or herbal leys) when done correctly can generate a gross margin in excess of almost anything else. Growing cattle are best for this. There are some exceptional farmers producing over 1000kg DW/ha.

I’m in Caistor. If you want to meet and discuss some sort of joint venture or just bounce ideas around pm me or give me a call 07842 071126.

Are you finishing lambs at the moment?

 

[beltextexel]

I would say if you have your heart set on using it from may onwards, feeding ewes might be a better bet. Although it won’t be peak season for buying feeders in may, your more likely to find them than store lambs. You could potentially fatten a batch of ewes (may - aug) then do a batch of lambs September onwards. Or alternatively, take cattle in the summer then go with stores/tack sheep from autumn onwards

 

[Stewartry hill]

The time of year you want sheep.Buy ewes with lambs at foot finish lambs and cull ewes

 

[livestock 1]

The time of year you want sheep.Buy ewes with lambs at foot finish lambs and cull ewes

Buying ewes with lambs is probably the dearest way possible to buy sheep

 

[Stewartry hill]

Buying ewes with lambs is probably the dearest way possible to buy sheep

Some men can do it .do spend a lot of time in markets

 

[livestock 1]

Some men can do it .do spend a lot of time in markets

I can never see how they add up right. Usually just folk buying lawnmowers. The ones I see are usually knack ewes that folk want rid of or hoggs and lambs which are a fortune

 

[puppet]

As above, store lamb sales are from August onwards and you need to look at keeping them until New Year. Around here that might mean average 8 per hectare to keep enough grass to February, making £30 profit in a good year. Oh, minus transport dosing and a few deaths.
The only weaned 20kg lamb would be a scarty wild Blackie wether which would clear your fences or die on the lush grass. Weaned texels/Suffolk's nearer 35kg, better ones gone fat, straight off the ewe by store sale time.
Of course every 3 years you will actually lose money on them.

 

[livestock 1]

As above, store lamb sales are from August onwards and you need to look at keeping them until New Year. Around here that might mean average 8 per hectare to keep enough grass to February, making £30 profit in a good year. Oh, minus transport dosing and a few deaths.
The only weaned 20kg lamb would be a scarty wild Blackie wether which would clear your fences or die on the lush grass. Weaned texels/Suffolk's nearer 35kg, better ones gone fat, straight off the ewe by store sale time.
Of course every 3 years you will actually lose money on them.

Or to put it another way once in every 4 years you will find it’s worth doing

 

[unlacedgecko]

Are you finishing lambs at the moment?

Nah I'm just a redneck talking sh!t online.

 

[livestock 1]

Nah I'm just a redneck talking sh!t online.

Ok I see

 

[Anymulewilldo]

The time of year you want sheep.Buy ewes with lambs at foot finish lambs and cull ewes

Do this, get very very disheartened. Lose money because the old farmers who can’t lamb sheep anymore will give fat value/life at 1 month post lambing then keep them all summer!

I’ve found it by far the most profitable way too sell my old ewes!

Like everyone else says, find someone local and reliable. Let it too them, and WATCH CAREFULLY. After 2/3 years you might feel it’s worth buying 500 lambs of your own and having a go. Or you might feel it best to concentrate on your arable and let us sheep shaggers deal with the little woolly buggers.

One major piece of advice I’d say too anyone considering store lambs.
Don’t be afraid too walk away at the mart. It’s alright being billy big rubbish showing us yokels how too buy, but you’ve got too sell the buggers at the end.

And personally I’ve never made money worth thinking about from short term lambs. Buy in the glut (timings change every year with grass season and fat price) go for a healthy medium lamb (20kg is a v.small) you want 27-29kg. And be prepared to farm them until February at the earliest.

Good luck, if you were closer too me I’d be in your yard in the morning to sort out an arrangement.

 

[livestock 1]

When talking about short keep lambs it’s worth thinking about the numbers. Remember on the fall of the hammer those lambs (every lamb) you buy can automatically cost you approaching a tenner.
Transport x 2 £ 1.50
Selling costs £ 3.00
Dip/Drench £1.50
Any poor doers/losses stiff legged ones mixed in short jaws £1.50
That’s all before they’ve eaten anything

 

[Estate fencing.]

Buying ewes with lambs is probably the dearest way possible to buy sheep

Best way of selling old ewes it to get another set of twins out of her, easy to get them through the winter on molasses and hay, not so easy to get old ewes through dry summers.

 

[Estate fencing.]

, i thought i might be able to get some weaned lambs at 12 weeks in may from a Feb lambing?

The problem is if you could find any store lambs in may (and you would struggle to get them) they will be dear as hell because you will be buying at the top of the market and aiming to sell at the bottom in late autumn when the glut of lambs is about.

 

[Chae1]

Easy money this year! We bought 165 at a average price of £66.87. Sold first lot yesterday averaged £108. Would have had them ten weeks. No hard feed, just tidying up grass.

Not always that easy I'm sure.