Lamb finishing costs: This week’s sheep feature on page 38 raises the subject of finishing lambs. When weighing up if it is better to hold lambs and finish on farm or sell as stores, then it is worthwhile completing a finishing budget. The main costs for home-reared lambs include a grass cost, health treatments and concentrate costs.

Many farmers do not include a grass cost as it is often absorbed in the general running cost for the farm. The typical grass cost for lambs is in the region of 5c to 7c/day. Health treatments generally average in the region of €3 to €4 per head if they include preventative treatment for external parasites, worm drench / faecal egg counts, footbathing and clostridial disease vaccination.

Concentrate costs are significant but they still represent good value for money if used wisely. The problem occurs where feeding periods are extended over a long duration or high volumes are required to finish lambs accumulating into high costs. A typical supplementation rate of 0.3kg per day at a cost of €270/t equates to a weekly cost of 57c. Contrast this to a daily allocation of 0.8kg and the weekly cost increases to over €1.50. This could still represent a worthwhile cost to the system and the important point is to sit down and see what the potential costs are.

If purchasing store lambs, the associated costs that need to be factored into the equation are marketing and transport costs, which again can easily range from €3 to €5 per head. The Teagasc store lamb calculator is a good aid and also forecasts a sale price based on farmgate prices in recent years.

Store lamb presentation: Mart managers report that producers can secure a significant price premium of up to €5 to €8 or even higher for presenting store lambs optimally. Some report that there is greater interest from beef farmers who dipped into the trade in 2019 and were happy with how the system performed.

Demand from these farmers is generally for wether and ewe lambs that are well presented, with most steering away from ram lambs as they foresee potential issues with finishing lambs to the required fat cover without supplementation.

Dagging dirty tail ends is also another significant benefit, with many buyers not wanting the hassle of this job and steering clear of competing for these lambs. There also appears to be good demand for ewe lambs with breeding potential and managers are advising farmers to batch lambs together on type, weight and size.

Department inspections: The relaxation in coronavirus regulations is increasing the rate at which Department inspections are taking place across the Basic Payment Scheme, cross-compliance and animal identification. Weaning in flocks is a good time to go through ewes and replace any lost tags while it is also advisable to ensure your flock register is up-to-date.

The options available for replacing lost tags are unchanged. A tag with a corresponding number to the tag the animal already possesses can be ordered and applied. The more common approach is to remove the existing tag and apply a new tag set, with the change recorded in your flock register. There is no requirement to have lambs born on the holding tagged until they leave the holding or reach nine months of age.