Drafting lambs: Farmers are keen to take advantage of strong factory appetite for lambs and capitalise on a further price increase. There are more reports arising of farmers possibly being too eager when drafting with lambs killing poorly and in cases falling below the minimum carcase weight of 17kg. The greatest problem appears to be reported in aged ram lambs that are not long after being weaned and are touch and go on cover.

It is important to keep lambs moving as they come fit for slaughter but it is also important to take account of variable slaughter performance when setting drafting weights and to ensure lambs are selected on a combination of weight and fat cover. There is a big difference in the potential kill-out of lambs pre- and post-weaning. Young fleshed lambs that have been grazed on high-quality swards or received supplementation will kill in the region of 47% to 49% with select lambs hitting 50%.

Post-weaning fleshed wether and ewe lambs finished off grass will kill-out in the region of 44% to 46% at this time of year with odd lambs again killing one percentage point higher. Lambs finished off forage crops or with concentrate feeding will also reap the rewards of a higher kill-out.

Ram lambs will typically kill 1% to 2% lower than wether and ewe lambs, while it is common for aged ram lambs with an average cover of flesh to kill back to 42% to 43% or even lower where the quality of grass lambs are grazing has been of poor quality and lambs have a poor cover of flesh.

Where this is the case, it is important to segregate ram lambs and graze on top-quality swards or potentially introduce concentrate supplementation. There will be a return on investment in feeding 0.3kg to 0.5kg per head or even higher where forward lambs are earmarked for a quick finish.

Managing weaned ewes: There is a tendency on some farms to tighten up ewes excessively post-weaning. The reasoning is often highlighted as providing an opportunity for ewes to be diverted on to a rising plane of nutrition in the run-up to breeding. While there is benefits in improving intake pre-breeding, it is best coming from a position of ewes having being fed to maintenance post-weaning and approaching weaning at the optimum body condition.

Allowing ewes to lose excessive body condition is a poor use of resources and can have negative effects on performance. Therefore, ewes should be used to clean out paddocks and have enough herbage available to consume in the region of 1kg to 1.1kg grass dry matter while aged and young ewes lacking flesh should be given preferential treatment where required.

Theft of dogs: There has been a sharp increase in reports in Connacht and the northwest of dogs being stolen. Many incidents are occurring in daylight hours when the risk is perceived to be lower and dogs are unaccompanied. It is important to be aware and take the necessary precautions. Any suspect behaviour should be recorded and licence numbers of vehicles acting suspiciously should be reported to local gardaí. It is also important to ensure that dogs are microchipped as where dogs that have been stolen are microchipped, it will help to identify their owners and facilitate their return.