Tullamore demo 4: Store lambs – deciding on what to buy
Don't miss our Tullamore Show beef, sheep and dairy demonstrations at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm on the Irish Farmers Journal stand, and find further reading below.
While the purchase price is an important consideration, it should not be the only factor on which decisions are made. Lambs should be purchased to suit the most economic finishing system. There is little point in purchasing light lambs that will not be finished until the new year if grass supplies are only available to carry lambs until the end of October, resulting in a higher feed bill than can be justified in a budget. The following factors should be used in helping to form your decision:
Finishing system: Where grass forms the basis of your finishing system, use realistic performance levels. Lambs will gain 150g to 180g per day on average during August through to mid-September. This will drop to 120g to 140g until early November, after which point liveweight gain will become variable and dependent on weather, grass quality and utilisation.
Ration cost: Be realistic if purchasing light lambs as they are likely to require some level of concentrates to finish. This ranges from a relatively low supplementation level in lambs that have a good run on dry land to 1kg to 1.3kg daily for lambs finished intensively indoors.
Mortality: It is important to factor in a level of mortality, especially if purchasing light lambs that will not be finished until next spring.
Market price: In the last few seasons, market returns have increased significantly during February and March, hitting a peak for the Easter market.
Marketing costs: Do not forget to factor costs such as transport and purchase/selling costs into account. These can quickly add up to €4 to €5 if buying and selling in marts.
Opportunity cost of grass: If in a sheep-breeding enterprise, will having lambs around the farm competing for diminishing supplies of grass later in the season affect the performance of ewes or increase costs?
Hill lamb budget calculator: Teagasc have developed a very useful budget for finishing hill lambs which can be found online or accessed through your local adviser.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
While the purchase price is an important consideration, it should not be the only factor on which decisions are made. Lambs should be purchased to suit the most economic finishing system. There is little point in purchasing light lambs that will not be finished until the new year if grass supplies are only available to carry lambs until the end of October, resulting in a higher feed bill than can be justified in a budget. The following factors should be used in helping to form your decision:
Finishing system: Where grass forms the basis of your finishing system, use realistic performance levels. Lambs will gain 150g to 180g per day on average during August through to mid-September. This will drop to 120g to 140g until early November, after which point liveweight gain will become variable and dependent on weather, grass quality and utilisation.
Ration cost: Be realistic if purchasing light lambs as they are likely to require some level of concentrates to finish. This ranges from a relatively low supplementation level in lambs that have a good run on dry land to 1kg to 1.3kg daily for lambs finished intensively indoors.
Mortality: It is important to factor in a level of mortality, especially if purchasing light lambs that will not be finished until next spring.
Market price: In the last few seasons, market returns have increased significantly during February and March, hitting a peak for the Easter market.
Marketing costs: Do not forget to factor costs such as transport and purchase/selling costs into account. These can quickly add up to €4 to €5 if buying and selling in marts.
Opportunity cost of grass: If in a sheep-breeding enterprise, will having lambs around the farm competing for diminishing supplies of grass later in the season affect the performance of ewes or increase costs?
Hill lamb budget calculator: Teagasc have developed a very useful budget for finishing hill lambs which can be found online or accessed through your local adviser.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS