Where to send cull ewes & odds'n'sods around Scotland and Northern England.

[Obi Wan]

Hi TFF'ers,

We're looking to find a regular direct outlet for cull ewes and odd'n'sods, consignee's able to receive full wagons. DW £/kg payment.

Decent contacts and any advice for the above would be greatly appreciated, complete discretion as always.

Ta for reading.

 

[Woolless]

Try West Scottish Lamb at Carlisle? Dawn Carnaby at Bridlington kill cull ewes and pay up to 22kg on lambs. Farmstock Scotland source sheep for them from this area.

 

[Hilly]

A mart ?

 

[Nithsdale]

Is there anywhere takes cull ewes direct up here? It's not something ever gets mentioned


Best place in this area is Longtown market. Just dropped off 50 stores this morning.

 

[Obi Wan]

A mart ?

Not an option we'd like to progress really, would need some sort of guarantee which I would doubt any board would support.

 

[Obi Wan]

Try West Scottish Lamb at Carlisle? Dawn Carnaby at Bridlington kill cull ewes and pay up to 22kg on lambs. Farmstock Scotland source sheep for them from this area.

West coast lamb rep usually take the majority of our cull stock at the moment so they wouldn't be an option. Dawn Carnaby will be worth some research, thanks for the advice.

 

[Obi Wan]

Is there anywhere takes cull ewes direct up here? It's not something ever gets mentioned


Best place in this area is Longtown market. Just dropped off 50 stores this morning.

No I think everybody seems to go with Longtown or Lockerby these days. It all seems to have turned into a monopoly the last 20years with all the buyers ultimately p##sing into the same pot.

 

[Woolless]

West coast lamb rep usually take the majority of our cull stock at the moment so they wouldn't be an option. Dawn Carnaby will be worth some research, thanks for the advice.

Haulage might knacker the job down to DC but worth asking.

 

[Obi Wan]

Haulage might knacker the job down to DC but worth asking.

Yes that's been one of the limiting factors, It would need to be a private load as the main haulage co's are aligned or affiliated with established buyers or markets.

 

[Hilly]

No I think everybody seems to go with Longtown or Lockerby these days. It all seems to have turned into a monopoly the last 20years with all the buyers ultimately p##sing into the same pot.

Bentham is where a lot go now .

 

[Anymulewilldo]

No I think everybody seems to go with Longtown or Lockerby these days. It all seems to have turned into a monopoly the last 20years with all the buyers ultimately p##sing into the same pot.

Surely sending them deadweight though just results in 1 man pissing on you with no option for someone else too stir the job up?

If I was looking too send all my culls deadweight I’d head for Shans at Ossett. Rum fella but his credit is good. Or deal through Jimmy Blenkhorn that buys for him.

 

[neilo]

Surely sending them deadweight though just results in 1 man pissing on you with no option for someone else too stir the job up?

If I was looking too send all my culls deadweight I’d head for Shans at Ossett. Rum fella but his credit is good. Or deal through Jimmy Blenkhorn that buys for him.

I guess it depends why the OP doesn’t want to sell through the marts really.

Even the most ardent supporters of dw marketing that I know, send their culls to the live mart. For anything even half decent, the abattoirs lift your leg for cull ewes.

The whole thread is a bit cryptic tbh.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Cull ewes deadweight = sore arse

 

[bobajob]

Not an option we'd like to progress really, would need some sort of guarantee which I would doubt any board would support.

What sort of guarantee do you want?! Payment insurance?
Sell through farmstock Scotland or to a market.
You will have more protection there than dealing direct with an abattoir.

What board do you mean?

 

[neilo]

What sort of guarantee do you want?! Payment insurance?
Sell through farmstock Scotland or to a market.
You will have more protection there than dealing direct with an abattoir.

What board do you mean?

Slaughter method perhaps? Any sold live could go to non-stun abattoirs.

 

[Bob the beef]

The whole thread is a bit cryptic tbh.

. That was my thought as well. There are loads of options for cull,stock coming out of the west coast, whether it be dw, through a coop, or any one of a dozen different marts? If the OP is talking about stock that may not be 100% fit to travel then that is another issue altogether. There used to be loads of buyers for "odds and sods" travelling up and down the west coast , often paying in cash, but they all got their fingers well and truLy burnt when they brought stock, that was not fit to travel back to the mainland. If they are not weight bearing on 4 legs they should not be getting moved any where.

 

[Obi Wan]

Hello folks, thanks for the comments, sorry I was busy elsewhere. I've read through them all and picked up on a few key points which I've answered below to give supporting detail to the OP and help steer the conversation.

I guess it depends why the OP doesn’t want to sell through the marts really

We're in quite a remote area with a limited number of livestock markets, agents and haulage companies. Local sale days have been cut massively over the last 15 - 20 years, so inevitably the local dealers have died out over time. For the past 15 -20 years the vast majority of non prime or store stock would have been sent to a large livestock market in the NW of England, the last few years we've noted a lack of consistency with their performance. Other outlets have been tried but haven't rendered an sort of stability. To compound the situation more recently the travelling Livestock agents/dealers have some sort of ceasefire agreement leaving the price unacceptably low. As said in the OP we're looking for alternative options.

What sort of guarantee do you want?

They need generate competition in the market place, work for the seller. If the dealers are given an Inch they'll take a mile, what business wouldn't.

Slaughter method perhaps?

No this isn't a concern.

If they are not weight bearing on 4 legs they should not be getting moved any where.

Totally agree, the days of 3 legged 50p ewes ended 20years ago.

 

[aangus]

Hello folks, thanks for the comments, sorry I was busy elsewhere. I've read through them all and picked up on a few key points which I've answered below to give supporting detail to the OP and help steer the conversation.



We're in quite a remote area with a limited number of livestock markets, agents and haulage companies. Local sale days have been cut massively over the last 15 - 20 years, so inevitably the local dealers have died out over time. For the past 15 -20 years the vast majority of non prime or store stock would have been sent to a large livestock market in the NW of England, the last few years we've noted a lack of consistency with their performance. Other outlets have been tried but haven't rendered an sort of stability. To compound the situation more recently the travelling Livestock agents/dealers have some sort of ceasefire agreement leaving the price unacceptably low. As said in the OP we're looking for alternative options.



They need generate competition in the market place, work for the seller. If the dealers are given an Inch they'll take a mile, what business wouldn't.



No this isn't a concern.



Totally agree, the days of 3 legged 50p ewes ended 20years ago.

Are we talking about Longtown and their agent/haulier WS

 

[Obi Wan]

Are we talking about Longtown and their agent/haulier WS

Hi aangus, we've tried sending them south, north and east the past few years, always seems to be the same buyers we're running into. 75% of the time it's a reasonable market price but the other 25% is pitiful, with running on tighter and tighter margins a few of us are looking to kill direct if we can circumvent the current routes.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Hi aangus, we've tried sending them south, north and east the past few years, always seems to be the same buyers we're running into. 75% of the time it's a reasonable market price but the other 25% is pitiful, with running on tighter and tighter margins a few of us are looking to kill direct if we can circumvent the current routes.

That’s because there are only a limited number of buyers that cover a certain area to supply a set number of abattoirs. When they want them it doesn’t matter live or deadweight. They pay well for them. But if the demand isn’t there then live or deadweight the trade will be substantially less. More so in the dead as there is no one stood buying ewes too feed until the demand lifts.

We all hit highs and lows in the trade. It does help too set reserves and not being afraid to bring them back. Also attempting to tailor your sales pattern to miss the doldrums periods when everyone else is selling theirs.