Tullamore demo 5: Top tips for buying or selling store lambs
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.
Competition is currently high for store lambs with repeat customers, buoyed by positive performance in 2014 and 2015, entering the frame at an earlier stage and joined by new customers. The way lambs are marketed can have a big impact on the number of sellers attracted to your lambs. If you are buying, beware of the telltale signs that may end up costing you dearly.
Top tips for selling
Group lambs at an even weight, size and lamb type: if there is a large variation, split the group in two. Keep tight-wooled lambs, crossbreds or hill lambs together as buyers have a strong preference when buying.
Group lambs by gender: At present in lowland sales wether and ewe lambs are selling best. There is a premium for ewe lambs with breeding potential, making it very worthwhile to market suitable ewe lambs together. In hill sales, some producers finishing lambs intensively indoors still prefer ram lambs.
EID tags: Farmers purchasing ewe lambs with breeding potential will in many cases be willing to pay a few euro extra for lambs that are electronically tagged.
Top tips for buying
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Avoid batches or lambs where there is one or two light lambs thrown into the mix: These lambs may take longer to finish and end up being the ones that put the economics of your budget under pressure.
Put all lambs standing: If purchasing in a sale, assess lambs closely and put all lambs standing. Investigate if lambs lying down continually have lameness issues.
Don’t lose track of the budget: It is easy to get caught in a bidding contest at present given demand for store lambs. Stick to the budget and pass lambs that are getting too expensive.
Poor performers: Poor performing lambs that are very dry in the wool or short condition will take longer to start performing. Where possible, avoid lambs that are showing signs of being stunted in growth.
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Competition is currently high for store lambs with repeat customers, buoyed by positive performance in 2014 and 2015, entering the frame at an earlier stage and joined by new customers. The way lambs are marketed can have a big impact on the number of sellers attracted to your lambs. If you are buying, beware of the telltale signs that may end up costing you dearly.
Top tips for selling
Group lambs at an even weight, size and lamb type: if there is a large variation, split the group in two. Keep tight-wooled lambs, crossbreds or hill lambs together as buyers have a strong preference when buying.
Group lambs by gender: At present in lowland sales wether and ewe lambs are selling best. There is a premium for ewe lambs with breeding potential, making it very worthwhile to market suitable ewe lambs together. In hill sales, some producers finishing lambs intensively indoors still prefer ram lambs.
EID tags: Farmers purchasing ewe lambs with breeding potential will in many cases be willing to pay a few euro extra for lambs that are electronically tagged.
Top tips for buying
Avoid batches or lambs where there is one or two light lambs thrown into the mix: These lambs may take longer to finish and end up being the ones that put the economics of your budget under pressure.
Put all lambs standing: If purchasing in a sale, assess lambs closely and put all lambs standing. Investigate if lambs lying down continually have lameness issues.
Don’t lose track of the budget: It is easy to get caught in a bidding contest at present given demand for store lambs. Stick to the budget and pass lambs that are getting too expensive.
Poor performers: Poor performing lambs that are very dry in the wool or short condition will take longer to start performing. Where possible, avoid lambs that are showing signs of being stunted in growth.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
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