Store lmb finish sold on a fat day. Why

[hally]

live to dead ok for deadweight but an hour in the auction will easily show you what the buyers want......until they change their minds

 

[unlacedgecko]

Yes, the live to dead events are excellent. AHDB also publish info on selecting stock for slaughter and probably videos now. But of course, according to some on here, they're teaching Granny to suck eggs and taking money for nothing.

I make extensive use of AHDB, both attending events and consuming all their free to access online resources. I think they’re great!

 

[Dyffryn]

Mate of mine had lambs rejected in a local market. So sent them on the hook and they all came back as 3L’s.

 

[andybk]

Mate of mine had lambs rejected in a local market. So sent them on the hook and they all came back as 3L’s.

thats the problem !

 

[Dyffryn]

I know it is a joke.

 

[liammogs]

Problem these days I think is everyone is keeping bigger ewes bigger tups etc.......feed the hell out of them they get too 40-45kg easy but try to fatten them lambs and not grow them is another kettle of fish! And the more people I talk too the more the problem becomes apparent, are we breeding a 60kg fat lamb these days not a 40-45 in spec lamb?

 

[egbert]

Before we go any further, I bought 2 crossbred shearling tups out of the fat a month ago. Fella had missed ballot for main tup sale or something so saw his arse and sent the pen as culls. But guaranteed fit too work if the buyer wished. I bought 2 for £210 each, big one would have been 450 and smaller one 3-350 at proper sale. Why he didn't just enter them for another sale I'll never know. But he cost himself some money that night for sure!

there's plenty of reasons why a tup might end up in the fat/cull market while still fit.
I seldom do it, but know some canny folk who'll buy em that way.

 

[Mc115reed]

Iv been guilty of the “its 35-40kg send it” many a time normally when I’m in need of some cash flow, I’d send store but it depends how it falls and how much time I have and atleast I can put a good guess on how much I’m gonna make sending fat where as store could be a real eye watering phone call ... when I used too sell in market Drayton they hold store lambs on same day as there fat lambs and won’t sell anything fat unless it’s fit they’ll pull it out and put it in the stores regardless of how you wanted them selling... more markets should operate like this really but time doesn’t always allow so much grading pre sale...

 

[Estate fencing.]

I think the reason that people sell stores in the fat is because they weigh them and don't handle them, so they say I'm going to draw at 40kg and pull out anything that is 40kg.
I do it different I have a pen of about 20 lambs and handle them all, I only weigh the fit ones and very big slightly lean lambs. At the moment I'm drawing 45kg (go up a kg a fortnight) if they are fit and I might even leave a 48kg that is a touch lean, but once they get to 52kg they all go even if they are a bit lean and never show up on the kill sheet. Iv had no 2's this year and most have been 3H what makes them kill out really well.
I do sell store lambs though market as well but most of them are fitter then that fats that are being sold on the same day, Last week sold stores at £81 and someone said to me "how come your store made £5 more than my fats", well they where fitter lambs!

 

[andybk]

Problem these days I think is everyone is keeping bigger ewes bigger tups etc.......feed the hell out of them they get too 40-45kg easy but try to fatten them lambs and not grow them is another kettle of fish! And the more people I talk too the more the problem becomes apparent, are we breeding a 60kg fat lamb these days not a 40-45 in spec lamb?

yes walk through the halls and rings of kelso , most rams are simply to Big framed / big boned , (100kg as a lamb or 150kg as a shearling really ) yes they sell well but they dont produce the easy fat lambs moderate framed ones do , shape on them is often fat from feeding or skill with the clippers ,

 

[liammogs]

yes walk through the halls and rings of kelso , most rams are simply to Big framed , (100kg as a lamb or 150kg as a shearling really ) yes they sell well but they dont produce the easy fat lambs moderate framed ones do , shape on them is often fat from feeding or skill with the clippers ,

Totally agree with this, have a friend that often tells me his lambs are heavy etc (tup breeder) often questioning what weights my lambs are etc! but it's all well and good having heavy lambs but they must also have the finish......a frame is only as good as the meat it carries

 

[gatepost]

Problem these days I think is everyone is keeping bigger ewes bigger tups etc.......feed the hell out of them they get too 40-45kg easy but try to fatten them lambs and not grow them is another kettle of fish! And the more people I talk too the more the problem becomes apparent, are we breeding a 60kg fat lamb these days not a 40-45 in spec lamb?

That's is exactly right, given breed type/ difference, if you average the live wt of the two parents and half it, that is more or less the wt their progeny will mature at, absolutely no need for a 100 plus kg ram, but you try telling them, and try selling a sub 100kg ram at auction,

 

[liammogs]

That's is exactly right, given breed type/ difference, if you average the live wt of the two parents and half it, that is more or less the wt their progeny will mature at, absolutely no need for a 100 plus kg ram, but you try telling them, and try selling a sub 100kg ram at auction,

Totally agree with you on that, I usually sell all my beltex tup lambs as breeding tups and often the one question I get is what weight they are! You say too low they want higher you say too high they want lower just can't win! I can't seem to sell a beltex to Pembrokeshire often told there too small, but a big lean texel there fighting hammer and tong.....but then people moan they can't get a finish on there lambs?

 

[gatepost]

I think the reason that people sell stores in the fat is because they weigh them and don't handle them, so they say I'm going to draw at 40kg and pull out anything that is 40kg.
I do it different I have a pen of about 20 lambs and handle them all, I only weigh the fit ones and very big slightly lean lambs. At the moment I'm drawing 45kg (go up a kg a fortnight) if they are fit and I might even leave a 48kg that is a touch lean, but once they get to 52kg they all go even if they are a bit lean and never show up on the kill sheet. Iv had no 2's this year and most have been 3H what makes them kill out really well.
I do sell store lambs though market as well but most of them are fitter then that fats that are being sold on the same day, Last week sold stores at £81 and someone said to me "how come your store made £5 more than my fats", well they where fitter lambs!

What breed/cross?

 

[Estate fencing.]

What breed/cross?

Mainly Suffolk’s on mules.

 

[andybk]

Think time is fast approaching were there is a partly protected supply chain for lamb , Have a v good friend that does hundreds (thousands) of calves ,for M&S / waitrose he handles all the milk / weaning phase , then they are moved on to grower units , buys powder by the artic from holland , similar pellets for feed , all from specific farms , all similar breeding all with fully traceable provenance , gets very few health issues , point is they know where they are with cost , breeding , and throughput , each step has its job which they do to perfection ,(and they seem to be doing very well ) im aware sheep are a bit different as they are grazed on many different types of terrain ,and all the various breeds , but when you think of the various diseases circulating and chems / med we use to control them , can quite see the finishing stages going that way if they get more valuable going forward and we dont get our finishing act together in the markets

 

[neilo]

Think time is fast approaching were there is a partly protected supply chain for lamb , Have a v good friend that does hundreds (thousands) of calves ,for M&S / waitrose he handles all the milk / weaning phase , then they are moved on to grower units , buys powder by the artic from holland , similar pellets for feed , all from specific farms , all similar breeding all with fully traceable provenance , gets very few health issues , point is they know where they are with cost , breeding , throughput , each step has its job which they do to perfection ,(and they seem to be doing very well ) im aware sheep are a bit different as they are grazed on many different types of terrain ,and all the various breeds , but when you think of the various diseases circulating and chems / med we use to control them , can quite see the finishing stages going that way if they get more valuable going forward and we dont get our finishing act together in the markets

Isn't that what all the supermarket contracts are about already? The retailers can stipulate how those lambs are reared/treated, and know how many they are likely to have available for sale at any stage through the year, and from where. Waitrose are even trying to control the breeding, through the use of Aber/Focus rams. M&S did a similar scheme with Focus/Rissington rams too, before the ex-Texel Society man took over there.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Think time is fast approaching were there is a partly protected supply chain for lamb , Have a v good friend that does hundreds (thousands) of calves ,for M&S / waitrose he handles all the milk / weaning phase , then they are moved on to grower units , buys powder by the artic from holland , similar pellets for feed , all from specific farms , all similar breeding all with fully traceable provenance , gets very few health issues , point is they know where they are with cost , breeding , throughput , each step has its job which they do to perfection ,(and they seem to be doing very well ) im aware sheep are a bit different as they are grazed on many different types of terrain ,and all the various breeds , but when you think of the various diseases circulating and chems / med we use to control them , can quite see the finishing stages going that way if they get more valuable going forward and we dont get our finishing act together in the markets

It already exists

 

[Anymulewilldo]

It already exists, Tesco supply contracts through St Merryn.

When the job gets too the stage as we are all contracted too the processors I for one will be having a very serious look at wether I want too continue. The supermarkets are too quick too sh!t on their suppliers, yes the price they offer is attractive but there is a mighty big stick attached too the carrot!

 

[andybk]

came across this on the nsa site when looking for something else ,Peter Babers presentation , have to say the weights are pretty well right on my rams records reared under a similar system , Builth sellers would laugh at you selling sheep of that weight

https://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/workspace/pdfs/all-rams-should-be-reared-off-forage27032012084849.pdf