On Thursday, the first batch of 2021-born lambs were slaughtered on Tullamore Farm. Farm manager Shaun Diver was pleased with the slaughter performance, with the kill-out of lambs a standout aspect. All 18 lambs bar one were paid to the maximum weight limit of 21kg carcase weight and achieved an average sale value of €130.71.

The typical kill-out was in the region of 50%-51%, with only three lambs falling back to a kill-out figure of 49%. 12 of the 18 lambs were weighed on Monday and the remaining six were weighed on Tuesday. This two to three day gap from weighing to slaughtering may be inflating the kill-out, but only slightly.

The kill-out is being helped by the fact lambs are all young, were drafted straight from the ewe and have been performing excellently on swards, with a good percentage of white clover present in recent weeks.

Slaughter performance

In terms of conformation, 11 lambs graded R, with the remaining seven U-grading, while all lambs recorded a fat score of 3. There were four ewe lambs on the batch, with three of these grading U and recording an excellent kill-out from a liveweight of just 40kg to 40.5kg. At the other end of the weight spectrum, there were four heavier lambs weighing from 46kg to 50kg, which killed significantly overweight at a carcase weight of 24kg to 26kg, with these lambs performing excellently in recent weeks and killing much better than anticipated.

These lambs were cut in price by 15c/kg to 30c/kg, as is a condition of the group payment structure for overweight lambs, with sheep marketed through the Offaly Quality Lamb Producer Group. The average price received was €6.23/kg, and as mentioned already, the average sale value was €130.71.

Regular drafting

Shaun had already planned to draft lambs on a weekly basis until weaning and given the positive performance of the first batch of lambs, he says he will now draft a higher percentage of lambs at a liveweight range of 40kg to 44kg and may also drop below the 40kg mark for well-conformed ewe lambs that are likely to repeat the positive slaughter performance of this week.

This practice of drafting lighter lambs before going overfat is one that Shaun has excelled in over recent seasons, with over 96% of lambs drafted within the optimum weight range and fat score 3 in 2020.

Shaun has also started selecting potential replacements to ensure top performing genetics are not lost in the first few drafts. Lambs are being selected initially on type and performance information, and breeding background will also be taken into account when the main run of replacements are being selected.

Grass supplies

It has been another very dry week on Tullamore farm, with soil moisture deficits starting to bite, especially on the out farm in Cloonagh. Shaun is managing to keep enough ahead of stock for the moment and is relying on forecast rainfall to keep on track next week. If this does not materialise, then options to reduce grass demand will have to be considered, including introducing supplementary feeding temporarily to some cows and calves, along with possibly weaning ewes and lambs.