Why deadweight

[Hilly]

I think the biggest plus for deadweight to me is that you get paid for what goes on the hook, weight and grade, NOT for what some buyer thinks they will be or what he thinks he can get away with. I tend to market my bigger lots of fat lambs deadweight through a farmers' co-operative through the peak season and remove the risk of getting shafted/catching a bad trade at the mart. Smaller lots either end of the season go to St Boswells. I would have to say that I've been disappointed more often there than with a deadweight line.

Buyers: Their wage/fancy car has to come from somewhere. A buyer at Boswells said to me that on that day hoggs without 'protection' i.e. someone standing with them and presumably about to pay luck money, were averaging £20 less!

Swings and roundabouts, I wouldn't want to be without the live mart and like to support it but I'm not about to short change myself!

If something is good it will sell at boswells as good as anywhere if not better , they can’t sell crap as the don’t deal with certain buyers who tend not to pay , you can’t blame them for that , livestock that fits the spec for them goes other places who get bumped .

 

[Jim75]

I think the biggest plus for deadweight to me is that you get paid for what goes on the hook, weight and grade, NOT for what some buyer thinks they will be or what he thinks he can get away with. I tend to market my bigger lots of fat lambs deadweight through a farmers' co-operative through the peak season and remove the risk of getting shafted/catching a bad trade at the mart. Smaller lots either end of the season go to St Boswells. I would have to say that I've been disappointed more often there than with a deadweight line.

Buyers: Their wage/fancy car has to come from somewhere. A buyer at Boswells said to me that on that day hoggs without 'protection' i.e. someone standing with them and presumably about to pay luck money, were averaging £20 less!

Swings and roundabouts, I wouldn't want to be without the live mart and like to support it but I'm not about to short change myself!

Do you send them to the abattoir you work at?

 

[neilo]

I wouldn't like to dictate to anybody as to where they sell their stock, it's a free world - everyone to his own......

... .BUT, all I will say is ......

We only have one example of when we ALL had to go deadweight and that was when we had foot and mouth.

Anyone remember what happened??

For those with short memories or too young to remember, the feckin deadweight buyers 'stole' a lot of stock as there was no alternative and they just named their price.

Covid could have been exactly the same if the markets had been forced to close.

I rest me case M'lord.

That was the reason I didn’t send another lamb deadweight after 2001, until about 3 years ago.

Having seen a lot of kill sheets from ram buyers, they were all getting consistently better prices than my lambs going live. Whenever I’ve sent a load each way since, the dw ones have normally been a fiver a head better. On current contract, they have been considerably better than that for most of the time, although the last 12 months of volatility has certainly been better in the live ring.
Fashions and prejudices in the live ring make a significant difference, and always have. The discounting of black or woolly heads is just daft, when some of those lambs are good meat. Buyers rarely even handle them now, which is a crazy situation. White heads are currently in vogue, even though I know my Charollais crosses will grade and KO better than most of those.

I’m taking some in on the dead shortly, and some others to mart tomorrow. I doubt there’ll be a lot of difference in price tbh. The few dark headed (Roussin) ones are in the dw bunch.

However, I do appreciate that we would be collectively shafted if everyone sold everything dw.

 

[Woolless]

If something is good it will sell at boswells as good as anywhere if not better , they can’t sell crap as the don’t deal with certain buyers who tend not to pay , you can’t blame them for that , livestock that fits the spec for them goes other places who get bumped .

I can't blame them for that approach. No point selling stuff you don't get paid for it, as some marts have done.

 

[Hilly]

I can't blame them for that approach. No point selling stuff you don't get paid for it, as some marts have done.

I asked then years ago to get buyers for bottoms end , we have bottom end , the answer was no way they don’t pay bills week later a certain mart was taken for a lot of money , their approach is good imo .

 

[Woolless]

Do you send them to the abattoir you work at?

No. When they do lambs they tend to look for bigger types than mine. I would be quite happy to send stock there though.

 

[Al R]

This isn’t a generalisation but can be quite often the case: I know a few who send live and they say “I send at 40-42kg” I ask what grade approximately and they havnt even felt a single lamb.
No lamb leaves here without a hand going over it regardless of weight. Due to 8-9 different breeds and cross breeds I can have lambs ranging from 34-50kg here which look a right bunch of misfits but they’d be right to kill (2/3L/3H) ranging in breeds from welsh/Charmoise/Charollais/BFL. Female, entire and whether also makes a big difference within a breed too to how they will kill. Until 2 years ago we didn’t weigh lambs before sending, all done on feel. Now I feel and then weigh just to confirm basically.

 

[Hilly]

This isn’t a generalisation but can be quite often the case: I know a few who send live and they say “I send at 40-42kg” I ask what grade approximately and they havnt even felt a single lamb.
No lamb leaves here without a hand going over it regardless of weight. Due to 8-9 different breeds and cross breeds I can have lambs ranging from 34-50kg here which look a right bunch of misfits but they’d be right to kill (2/3L/3H) ranging in breeds from welsh/Charmoise/Charollais/BFL. Female, entire and whether also makes a big difference within a breed too to how they will kill. Until 2 years ago we didn’t weigh lambs before sending, all done on feel. Now I feel and then weigh just to confirm basically.

I get the auctioneers to draw mine , it’s free they know what’s wanted etc and it’s an extra pair of hands when your on your own.

 

[Estate fencing.]

It depends on the local market to you really I think. 5 years ago we went all dead but now it’s probably 75% live and 25% dead. Used to only get 1 buyer but this week had 10! Also almost all breeding sheep go live even if i have a buyer I will usually get them to buy them from market.

 

[goodevans]

I hope this isn't another one hit post from the opening poster,nether to be seen again @Hfd Cattle ,time for a coffee now

 

[michael N123]

We sell in both

 

[Optimus]

This isn’t a generalisation but can be quite often the case: I know a few who send live and they say “I send at 40-42kg” I ask what grade approximately and they havnt even felt a single lamb.
No lamb leaves here without a hand going over it regardless of weight. Due to 8-9 different breeds and cross breeds I can have lambs ranging from 34-50kg here which look a right bunch of misfits but they’d be right to kill (2/3L/3H) ranging in breeds from welsh/Charmoise/Charollais/BFL. Female, entire and whether also makes a big difference within a breed too to how they will kill. Until 2 years ago we didn’t weigh lambs before sending, all done on feel. Now I feel and then weigh just to confirm basically.

You have to handle them, selling both live an DW.too many will just go on what the scales say.

 

[Plain steer]

Some deadweight sellers have to go deadweight they have no choice....
Some deadweight sellers have to send them when they are told to send them, they have no choice......
Some deadweight sellers get penalised for overweight stock, they have no choice....
Some deadweight sellers are are in the pockets of the abattoirs and have to do as they are told, they have no choice....
Some deadweight sellers stock are all owned by the abottoir, so they have no choice!!!!!!

Is DB ,s men all on that?

 

[murphy]

Most of the Fat cattle in the live sales round here will end up on other farms for further fattening

 

[neilo]

I get the auctioneers to draw mine , it’s free they know what’s wanted etc and it’s an extra pair of hands when your on your own.

Brave man. I’ve known a lot of auctioneers & fieldsmen over the years that I wouldn’t let draw mine. I have enough trouble trying to stop them messing them up in the mart.

 

[Hilly]

Brave man. I’ve known a lot of auctioneers & fieldsmen over the years that I would let draw mine. I have enough trouble trying to stop them messing them up in the mart.

Yes I’ve seen lots sold that farmers have drawn as well it works all ways fortunately here we have good stockmen in Marts .Their is more sh!t goes through the fat cattle and sheep that farmers have drawn , I know auctioneers advise them to go store but they insist if they certain weight they sold in fat , it’s unbelievable really at times .

 

[Hilly]

Most of the Fat cattle in the live sales round here will end up on other farms for further fattening

You would think they would sell them in the store ?

 

[icanshootwell]

Do you ever wonder why they offer dead weight in the beginning do you think it’s Cos they are kind hearted souls that understand your too busy to market your produce

I,ve had my cattle stole of me in market in the past, buyers not bidding against each other etc etc, that,s why i went to dead weight, getting paid the right price for the quality you give them. It,s the new grading system that wants chucking in there digester.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I,ve had my cattle stole of me in market in the past, buyers not bidding against each other etc etc, that,s why i went to dead weight, getting paid the right price for the quality you give them. It,s the new grading system that wants chucking in there digester.

Change abattoirs

 

[Hilly]

I,ve had my cattle stole of me in market in the past, buyers not bidding against each other etc etc, that,s why i went to dead weight, getting paid the right price for the quality you give them. It,s the new grading system that wants chucking in there digester.

Yet you let same people weigh them behind closed doors !