This is a subscriber-only article
Analysis of Teagasc eProfit monitor results shows a major difference of €31/ewe between the net margin achieved on the top third of hill farms compared to the average hill farm.
The top third of hill farms generated a net margin of €10/ewe compared to the average farm which lost €21/ewe. The analysis, delivered by Teagasc sheep adviser Frank campion, shows the stark difference between farms operating at varying levels of output and efficiency, with the top third farmers retaining 110% of premia, based on a per-ewe basis (average €88/ewe) while the average farmer used 20% of premia (€104/ewe) to keep the farm running.
Variable costs on both systems were similar at €36/ewe for the top third and €38/ewe for the average. The big difference in margin stemmed from output.
Frank Campion, Teagasc presenting to farmers at this week's Teagasc National Hill Sheep Conference.
Frank said the top third of farmers not only produced higher output, they also realised a higher value for this output.
The top third of farmers achieved an average of 1.14 lambs per ewe compared to 0.97. The lamb price achieved an average of €77 on the top third farms compared to €65 on the average farm.
Key points
Frank outlined a number of key points capable of contributing to higher output. The first of these, ewe body condition score (BCS), is well-documented. Increasing BCS at breeding from 2 or less to closer to the target at BCS 2.5 can lift pregnancy rate from 0.8 lambs per ewe joined to 0.91 lambs per ewe joined.This is a further lift to BCS 3 capable of increasing the pregnancy rate to just shy of 0.95 lambs per ewe joined.
Frank highlighted results from the Teagasc BETTER farm sheep programme which showed one participant achieving an average BCS of 3.1 and average liveweight of 53kg at mating. This helped the flock achieve a pregnancy rate of greater than 90% and a litter size of 1.1 to 1.2 lambs per ewe joined from 2014 to 2016.
Achieving higher output from each ewe mated can in turn allow a higher portion crossbreeding in a flock which can significantly increase the value of progeny produced. At an average weaning rate of 0.8 lambs per ewe joined, 66% of ewes are required for pure breeding to generate enough flock replacements. Where the weaning rate is increased to 1.05 to 1.1 lambs per ewe joined, the number of ewes required for pure breeding drops to 50% to 48%, thus allowing a much higher level of crossbreeding to take place.
Performance recording
Another area highlighted as having huge potential is the use of performance-recorded rams. Frank said adoption at farm level has been a slow burner and urged farmers to pay greater attention in this area with huge potential to lift performance and reduce mortality as reflected in Table 1 and Table 2.
The other key area highlighted was the manner in which lambs are finished and marketed. Frank presented results of recent research carried out on hill lamb finishing in Teagasc Mellows Campus, Athenry. The latest research showed potential to finish light lambs at a 12kg to 16kg carcase weight with an acceptable finish while the greatest potential attainable is in bringing lambs to heavier weights on grass before finishing intensively.
.jpg)
The value of progeny from Scottish Blackface ewes can be increased through crossbreeding.
The establishment of producer groups to market prolific ewe lamb replacements was highlighted as having huge potential while farmers were also told that greater links needed to be developed between hill and lowland farmers to foster trading of store lambs for finishing on lowland farms.
SHARING OPTIONS: