Store lambs

Sheep135

Member
Didn't want to hijack the other thread so thought I'd start another.
This is a very rough plan and idea but wanted opinions on whether it may work.
The main income on the farm is fattening store cattle, but through the autumn and winter the plan would be to fatten store lambs intensively, I can buy lamb creep for 170 a tonne and the plan would be to turn medium-long term lambs around in 30-60 days. The idea of having lambs grazing for 6 months of the year cattle grazing for 6 months of the year would help to reduce a worm burden?
I tried this year with 1200 lambs which worked well with the best performing lambs but the tail enders and diers reduced the margins a fair bit. The plan would be to in time fatten 10,000 - 15,000 lambs. Just thinking aloud so please state any obvious flaws!
 

GTB

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Didn't want to hijack the other thread so thought I'd start another.
This is a very rough plan and idea but wanted opinions on whether it may work.
The main income on the farm is fattening store cattle, but through the autumn and winter the plan would be to fatten store lambs intensively, I can buy lamb creep for 170 a tonne and the plan would be to turn medium-long term lambs around in 30-60 days. The idea of having lambs grazing for 6 months of the year cattle grazing for 6 months of the year would help to reduce a worm burden?
I tried this year with 1200 lambs which worked well with the best performing lambs but the tail enders and diers reduced the margins a fair bit. The plan would be to in time fatten 10,000 - 15,000 lambs. Just thinking aloud so please state any obvious flaws!
The obvious flaw is that it's very hard to make it pay some years. You can control the purchase price and feed costs to some extent but you have no control whatsoever on the selling price. So you can do everything right and still lose money.
 

Sheep135

Member
The obvious flaw is that it's very hard to make it pay some years. You can control the purchase price and feed costs to some extent but you have no control whatsoever on the selling price. So you can do everything right and still lose money.
I suppose like fattening cattle some years it works well, and others it doesn't, It really makes me wonder how some farmers around here only fatten lambs for a living while renting all their ground and buying creep for around 200 a tonne.
 

Sheep135

Member
1 of the largest store lambs buyers round here has a very good relationship in the market, after everything was sold I've seen him going round the auctioneer saying he paid too much for a certain pen and wanted to pay less which the auctioneer agreed to do so! Is it true that the market will give you a better deal on commission when buying a lot of lambs and the slaughterhouse a better contract on lambs if you supply a lot of lambs through the year or is it just myths?
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Didn't want to hijack the other thread so thought I'd start another.
This is a very rough plan and idea but wanted opinions on whether it may work.
The main income on the farm is fattening store cattle, but through the autumn and winter the plan would be to fatten store lambs intensively, I can buy lamb creep for 170 a tonne and the plan would be to turn medium-long term lambs around in 30-60 days. The idea of having lambs grazing for 6 months of the year cattle grazing for 6 months of the year would help to reduce a worm burden?
I tried this year with 1200 lambs which worked well with the best performing lambs but the tail enders and diers reduced the margins a fair bit. The plan would be to in time fatten 10,000 - 15,000 lambs. Just thinking aloud so please state any obvious flaws!
Drive up to Penrith and ask John Errington how he does it.Or Gone Up The Hill on here.He does 4000 year.
 

MJT

Member
As others have said I think the profit is in buying them right, if you could buy off farm in 2 or 300 at a time or more then you could probably get better quality lambs and more even bunches at less money. Some of these big estates like to out their lambs as stores and either sell off farm or have production sales.
 

Sheep135

Member
If you want them for 6 months why don't you buy running ewe lambs?
Being able to turn lambs around fast would give hopefully cash income every week, where as keeping ewe lambs for 6 months would mean sitting on your money for a long time. And hopefully with a high numbers game in store lambs it would hopefully give a better chance of making money.
 

Ysgythan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Ammanford
Being able to turn lambs around fast would give hopefully cash income every week, where as keeping ewe lambs for 6 months would mean sitting on your money for a long time. And hopefully with a high numbers game in store lambs it would hopefully give a better chance of making money.

I see, sell often, buy often. What's you local mart?
 

Sheep135

Member
I see, sell often, buy often. What's you local mart?
Yeah with being able to buy cheap creep I thought it would be a good way to take advantage of that and have a fast turnaround system. Hereford, have had 4000-5000 store lambs in almost every week for the last few months.
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Yeah with being able to buy cheap creep I thought it would be a good way to take advantage of that and have a fast turnaround system. Hereford, have had 4000-5000 store lambs in almost every week for the last few months.
Are your lambs housed or outside? and how do you feed such high numbers?
 

Sheep135

Member
Are your lambs housed or outside? and how do you feed such high numbers?
We only did 1200 this year, but it would be the large number over the 6 month period not all at once. Majority would be fed outside but we have a shed that could comfortably hold 3500-4000 lambs if need be.
 

Ysgythan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Ammanford
Yeah with being able to buy cheap creep I thought it would be a good way to take advantage of that and have a fast turnaround system. Hereford, have had 4000-5000 store lambs in almost every week for the last few months.

Buying off the Welsh hills and selling at Hereford could be just the job then. Welsh mule wethers even. They take a bit of finishing but if you're on a good place could work.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,291
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top