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Livestock & Forage
The Beltex is supreme.
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<blockquote data-quote="Aspiring Peasants" data-source="post: 7730549" data-attributes="member: 198"><p>I agree and if you have some cattle then there are usually silage aftermaths which are ideal for weaning lambs onto to finish very cheaply. As I mentioned earlier when we had mules there would be lambs going in July, now with continental crosses they don't start going until August (they probably would be ready in July if we fed creep) and I haven't noticed a grass problem through keeping them a bit longer. If I had a dry farm that burnt off in the summer then I would look at things differently.</p><p></p><p>I think the idea that days to slaughter is the most important factor in sheep production is a gross over simplification and I've never seen any statistics to back it up, it is just stated as a fact. It may be true in some situations but certainly not all. </p><p></p><p>The other point I have also found to be true is keeping more lambs to the acre. We can certainly keep more sheep per acre with Texel Beltex crosses than we could with mules. The other thing I like is that if you have to feed or creep lambs they eat the same but they are worth around 50p per kilo more for the same feed cost. OK the lambs from mules would be away earlier so less likelihood of needing feed to finish but it often pays to store lambs to finish later at a much higher price. You don't have this flexibility with quicker finishing lambs. They are just gone at a certain time and you take pot luck on trade at the time. It makes much more business sense to be selling lambs over a longer period to even out the ups and downs of the market. I'd sell lambs every week if I could.</p><p></p><p>The figures will be different every year because weather is variable, commodity markets are volatile (we are selling a commodity) but one thing is sure it cannot be reduced to one or two simple factors.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aspiring Peasants, post: 7730549, member: 198"] I agree and if you have some cattle then there are usually silage aftermaths which are ideal for weaning lambs onto to finish very cheaply. As I mentioned earlier when we had mules there would be lambs going in July, now with continental crosses they don't start going until August (they probably would be ready in July if we fed creep) and I haven't noticed a grass problem through keeping them a bit longer. If I had a dry farm that burnt off in the summer then I would look at things differently. I think the idea that days to slaughter is the most important factor in sheep production is a gross over simplification and I've never seen any statistics to back it up, it is just stated as a fact. It may be true in some situations but certainly not all. The other point I have also found to be true is keeping more lambs to the acre. We can certainly keep more sheep per acre with Texel Beltex crosses than we could with mules. The other thing I like is that if you have to feed or creep lambs they eat the same but they are worth around 50p per kilo more for the same feed cost. OK the lambs from mules would be away earlier so less likelihood of needing feed to finish but it often pays to store lambs to finish later at a much higher price. You don't have this flexibility with quicker finishing lambs. They are just gone at a certain time and you take pot luck on trade at the time. It makes much more business sense to be selling lambs over a longer period to even out the ups and downs of the market. I'd sell lambs every week if I could. The figures will be different every year because weather is variable, commodity markets are volatile (we are selling a commodity) but one thing is sure it cannot be reduced to one or two simple factors. [/QUOTE]
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The Beltex is supreme.
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