The last few months have been hard on ewes with grass supplies tight in early lactation and a higher incidence of issues such as mastitis and grass tetany.

Some young and older ewes are also showing the effects of a difficult season with body condition falling well below target (BCS breeding target of 3.5+ for lowland ewes and 3.0+ for hill ewes).

It is difficult to advise culling harder as many farmers have experienced higher losses this spring and are facing higher feed bills so their appetite to enter the market for replacements may be tempered.

On the other hand, the cull ewe market is relatively strong and therefore if ewe lambs can be retained or replacements brought in at a reasonable cost then it will pay dividends in underpinning flock productivity.

The first port of call in culling decisions will be obvious reasons which ideally have been identified in advance through a permanent marking system.

Mastitis will be apparent in ewes that experienced serious illness but it is worth paying greater attention to the health of udders with a higher incidence of sub clinical mastitis that may have gone unnoticed. Any ewes with lumps in their udder, damaged teats or large pendulous udders should be culled as it is these ewes that will increase the labour component next spring.

Ewes that are persistent offenders for lameness, despite adequate treatment, should also be moved on.

With regards culling decisions based on age, animals that have a worn or broken mouth will struggle to compete if feed supplies are tighter while ewes that do not recover in body condition despite a period of preferential treatment will be likely to remain a problem over the coming months.