The Scottish Blackface breed accounts for approximately 22% of the 2.5 million ewes in Ireland. The majority of these Blackface sheep are maintained on hills or marginal land that is not suited to other sheep breeds or other farm enterprises.
Profits from these hill sheep enterprises are dependant on prices obtained for lambs sold. A large proportion of these lambs become available for sale from August onwards. In recent years, prices for hill lambs and, in particular, light hill lambs have been disappointing. This article briefly examines different options to improve the marketability and profitability. The main focus is on pure Scottish Blackface lambs, with some minor references to crosses of the breed.
Market
Traditionally, Ireland has relied on the Mediterranean markets, including Portugal, Spain and Italy, to take the lambs from hill flocks. In the past, these markets required carcases from 10kg and upwards, with preferences for carcases from 12kg to 15kg.
While hill lambs meet these weight requirements, demands from these markets have declined in recent years. There has been a 54% decline in the level of exports to the three Mediterranean countries, and an 87% decline in the Portuguese and Spanish markets.
There is much evidence that the performance of pure Scottish Blackface lambs in terms of liveweight gain, feed intake and feed conversion efficiency is lower than that of lowland lambs or from hill lambs crossed with lowland breeds. However, general performance trends are similar for both lowland and hill lambs.
Performance at grass
The post-weaning performance at grass depends on the quantity and quality of grass available. Results from Teagasc studies suggest that well-grown weaned hill lambs on well-managed pasture can achieve 115g/day or 0.8kg/week in early autumn (August/early September), while in late autumn (September/October), this performance drops to 0.4kg/week. The growth rate of lambs on hill pastures will be 50% below these levels. If the weaned lambs are very light, less than 25kg, performance will be depressed further at this time of year.
Option 1 >> Sell at weaning
Advantages:
Extra grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock. Savings on flock health costs. Improved cashflow.
Disadvantages:
Poor prices for light lambs. Limited markets.Lamb potential not exploited.Option 2 >> Graze and sell in
late October
Requires excellent quality grass and grassland management.
Advantages:
Heavier lambs. Greater sale options.Possibly higher prices. Disadvantages:
Less grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock.Additional flock health costs. Cashflow.Expected lamb performance:
August to mid-September: 115g/day or 0.8kg/week. Mid-September to end of October: 60g/day or 0.4kg/week. Total liveweight gain: 7.2kg after 12 weeks.Option 3 >> Graze and supplementary meal feeding at pasture. Sell late October
Requires excellent quality grass and grassland management, plus meal feeding (300g/lamb/day) by trough.
Advantages:
Heavier lambs.Greater sale options.Possibly higher prices.
Disadvantages: Less grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock. Additional flock health costs. Cost of concentrates (€6.30/lamb).Cashflow.Expected lamb performance:
August to mid-September: 155g/day or 1.1kg/week. Mid-September to end of October: 100g/day or 0.7kg/week.6kg to 9kg concentrates required for 1kg liveweight gain. Total gain after 12 weeks = 11kg.The direct cost of the meal consumed per lamb will vary from €6.30/lamb (€250/t) to €8.82 (€350/t). The key question is if the market at the end of October will pay for the additional 4kg of liveweight.
Option 4 >> Finish lambs on an all-meal diet after weaning
Advantages:
Extra grass for ewe lambs and
breeding flock.Heavier lambs.French lamb prices. Disadvantages:
Cost of meal. Large quantity of meal required. A long finishing period for light lambs. Additional flock health costs. Facilities.Cashflow.
Expected lamb performance: Average daily gain: 200g/lamb/day.Feed conversion efficiency: 7kg meal, 1kg liveweight gain.Market suitability: At least 90% of the lambs should reach French market specification.The finishing of lambs is dependent on the following factors:
The market price or valuation for lambs at weaning. Meal prices: These can be variable, depending on location, quantities, ration composition and whether it can be purchased in bulk or bags. A high-quality balanced ration suitable for feed to finishing male lambs must be used. Lamb mortality: Ideally, this must be kept below 4%. Starting off with healthy lambs followed with good husbandry is essential. Sale price of finished lamb: Starting the intensive feeding of lambs in August to September will result in a high proportion of lambs finished in November/December, before there is a worthwhile increase in factory lamb prices.
Option 5 >> Graze for a period
followed by finishing on all-meal dietLambs are grazed until the end of October. During this period, they would be expected to gain approximately 7kg, if grazed on good-quality grass. At the end of October, lambs would be housed and finished on an all-meal diet.
Advantages:
Heavier lambs at the start of the meal feeding period. Reduced meal requirement. French lamb prices. Higher prices in January/February. Reduced finishing period. Disadvantages:
Less grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock.Additional flock health costs. Facilities. Cashflow.Expected lamb performance:
Grazing: 12 weeks grazing = 7.2kg liveweight gain.Indoors: Avg performance = 200g/day. Feed conversion efficiency: 7kg of meal: 1kg of liveweight gain. Market suitability: At least 90% of the lambs should reach French market specification.The finishing of lambs is dependent on the factors discussed under Option 4. With this option, cheaper liveweight gain is achieved from grazed grass and the quantity of meal required is less.
By starting the finishing period later, there is a greater probability of lambs being sold in January when hogget prices usually
Athenry performance
The performance of hill and crossbred lambs at Athenry 2013/14 is summarised in Table 2. Lambs were kept indoors for the duration of the feeding period and fed a ration comprising 70% cereals, 15% protein and a UFL of 1.00. The total lamb mortality was 3%. The effect of varying meal prices, factory lamb price and mortality on margin per lamb is presented in Table 1.
The effect of changes in meal prices is most significant when feeding lighter lambs and aiming to bring them to “French” weights, reflecting the fact that they require larger meal inputs. Increasing factory lamb price has a consistent effect across the different lamb weights.
The effect of increased lamb mortality is greatest with heavier lambs, reflecting the increased value of a heavier lamb at the start of the feeding period.
A decline in demand for light hill lambs in recent years has led to poor prices being paid for these lambs. However, through careful management, value can be added to these lambs.
Every effort should be made, through planned grassland management, to maximise weaning weight. There are a number of options open to deal with these well-grown weaned hill lambs. They can be sold directly for slaughter for the limited light carcase market, they can be sold as stores for further feeding by the purchaser, or they can be successfully fattened by the producer on a high-concentrate diet to achieve the French-type carcase of greater than 15kg.
The latter requires excellent sheep husbandry to minimise lamb loss and maximise lamb performance. It’s vital to be able to obtain a quality ration at a competitive price. The ration must be formulated for intensive feeding of lamb.
The Scottish Blackface breed accounts for approximately 22% of the 2.5 million ewes in Ireland. The majority of these Blackface sheep are maintained on hills or marginal land that is not suited to other sheep breeds or other farm enterprises.
Profits from these hill sheep enterprises are dependant on prices obtained for lambs sold. A large proportion of these lambs become available for sale from August onwards. In recent years, prices for hill lambs and, in particular, light hill lambs have been disappointing. This article briefly examines different options to improve the marketability and profitability. The main focus is on pure Scottish Blackface lambs, with some minor references to crosses of the breed.
Market
Traditionally, Ireland has relied on the Mediterranean markets, including Portugal, Spain and Italy, to take the lambs from hill flocks. In the past, these markets required carcases from 10kg and upwards, with preferences for carcases from 12kg to 15kg.
While hill lambs meet these weight requirements, demands from these markets have declined in recent years. There has been a 54% decline in the level of exports to the three Mediterranean countries, and an 87% decline in the Portuguese and Spanish markets.
There is much evidence that the performance of pure Scottish Blackface lambs in terms of liveweight gain, feed intake and feed conversion efficiency is lower than that of lowland lambs or from hill lambs crossed with lowland breeds. However, general performance trends are similar for both lowland and hill lambs.
Performance at grass
The post-weaning performance at grass depends on the quantity and quality of grass available. Results from Teagasc studies suggest that well-grown weaned hill lambs on well-managed pasture can achieve 115g/day or 0.8kg/week in early autumn (August/early September), while in late autumn (September/October), this performance drops to 0.4kg/week. The growth rate of lambs on hill pastures will be 50% below these levels. If the weaned lambs are very light, less than 25kg, performance will be depressed further at this time of year.
Option 1 >> Sell at weaning
Advantages:
Extra grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock. Savings on flock health costs. Improved cashflow.
Disadvantages:
Poor prices for light lambs. Limited markets.Lamb potential not exploited.Option 2 >> Graze and sell in
late October
Requires excellent quality grass and grassland management.
Advantages:
Heavier lambs. Greater sale options.Possibly higher prices. Disadvantages:
Less grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock.Additional flock health costs. Cashflow.Expected lamb performance:
August to mid-September: 115g/day or 0.8kg/week. Mid-September to end of October: 60g/day or 0.4kg/week. Total liveweight gain: 7.2kg after 12 weeks.Option 3 >> Graze and supplementary meal feeding at pasture. Sell late October
Requires excellent quality grass and grassland management, plus meal feeding (300g/lamb/day) by trough.
Advantages:
Heavier lambs.Greater sale options.Possibly higher prices.
Disadvantages: Less grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock. Additional flock health costs. Cost of concentrates (€6.30/lamb).Cashflow.Expected lamb performance:
August to mid-September: 155g/day or 1.1kg/week. Mid-September to end of October: 100g/day or 0.7kg/week.6kg to 9kg concentrates required for 1kg liveweight gain. Total gain after 12 weeks = 11kg.The direct cost of the meal consumed per lamb will vary from €6.30/lamb (€250/t) to €8.82 (€350/t). The key question is if the market at the end of October will pay for the additional 4kg of liveweight.
Option 4 >> Finish lambs on an all-meal diet after weaning
Advantages:
Extra grass for ewe lambs and
breeding flock.Heavier lambs.French lamb prices. Disadvantages:
Cost of meal. Large quantity of meal required. A long finishing period for light lambs. Additional flock health costs. Facilities.Cashflow.
Expected lamb performance: Average daily gain: 200g/lamb/day.Feed conversion efficiency: 7kg meal, 1kg liveweight gain.Market suitability: At least 90% of the lambs should reach French market specification.The finishing of lambs is dependent on the following factors:
The market price or valuation for lambs at weaning. Meal prices: These can be variable, depending on location, quantities, ration composition and whether it can be purchased in bulk or bags. A high-quality balanced ration suitable for feed to finishing male lambs must be used. Lamb mortality: Ideally, this must be kept below 4%. Starting off with healthy lambs followed with good husbandry is essential. Sale price of finished lamb: Starting the intensive feeding of lambs in August to September will result in a high proportion of lambs finished in November/December, before there is a worthwhile increase in factory lamb prices.
Option 5 >> Graze for a period
followed by finishing on all-meal dietLambs are grazed until the end of October. During this period, they would be expected to gain approximately 7kg, if grazed on good-quality grass. At the end of October, lambs would be housed and finished on an all-meal diet.
Advantages:
Heavier lambs at the start of the meal feeding period. Reduced meal requirement. French lamb prices. Higher prices in January/February. Reduced finishing period. Disadvantages:
Less grass for ewe lambs and breeding flock.Additional flock health costs. Facilities. Cashflow.Expected lamb performance:
Grazing: 12 weeks grazing = 7.2kg liveweight gain.Indoors: Avg performance = 200g/day. Feed conversion efficiency: 7kg of meal: 1kg of liveweight gain. Market suitability: At least 90% of the lambs should reach French market specification.The finishing of lambs is dependent on the factors discussed under Option 4. With this option, cheaper liveweight gain is achieved from grazed grass and the quantity of meal required is less.
By starting the finishing period later, there is a greater probability of lambs being sold in January when hogget prices usually
Athenry performance
The performance of hill and crossbred lambs at Athenry 2013/14 is summarised in Table 2. Lambs were kept indoors for the duration of the feeding period and fed a ration comprising 70% cereals, 15% protein and a UFL of 1.00. The total lamb mortality was 3%. The effect of varying meal prices, factory lamb price and mortality on margin per lamb is presented in Table 1.
The effect of changes in meal prices is most significant when feeding lighter lambs and aiming to bring them to “French” weights, reflecting the fact that they require larger meal inputs. Increasing factory lamb price has a consistent effect across the different lamb weights.
The effect of increased lamb mortality is greatest with heavier lambs, reflecting the increased value of a heavier lamb at the start of the feeding period.
A decline in demand for light hill lambs in recent years has led to poor prices being paid for these lambs. However, through careful management, value can be added to these lambs.
Every effort should be made, through planned grassland management, to maximise weaning weight. There are a number of options open to deal with these well-grown weaned hill lambs. They can be sold directly for slaughter for the limited light carcase market, they can be sold as stores for further feeding by the purchaser, or they can be successfully fattened by the producer on a high-concentrate diet to achieve the French-type carcase of greater than 15kg.
The latter requires excellent sheep husbandry to minimise lamb loss and maximise lamb performance. It’s vital to be able to obtain a quality ration at a competitive price. The ration must be formulated for intensive feeding of lamb.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: