General sheep thread

wrangler

A lot of rain fell here today, between lamb price being back €10 and the winter being a month earlier, profit will be poor in sheep this year.
I wouldn't be surprised if lamb crop is back too with all the rain at mating, I saw it here before after a wet autumn

farawaygrass

wrangler wrote: »

A lot of rain fell here today, between lamb price being back €10 and the winter being a month earlier, profit will be poor in sheep this year.
I wouldn't be surprised if lamb crop is back too with all the rain at mating, I saw it here before after a wet autumn

I wouldn’t mind but last spring I thought this was going to be a great year price wise for lambs. Even thought they are bad at the moment, I’m still upping the numbers, and cutting back on sucklers. I know I asked you before but are you still doing profit monitors? What’s the net the last few years?

Ard_MC

memorystick wrote: »

Is it important that bought in store lambs get the second shot of Heptavac P? Can’t get the fûçkers in.

No man with a dog in the townland?

Birdnuts

farawaygrass wrote: »

I wouldn’t mind but last spring I thought this was going to be a great year price wise for lambs. Even thought they are bad at the moment, I’m still upping the numbers, and cutting back on sucklers. I know I asked you before but are you still doing profit monitors? What’s the net the last few years?

Don't know if Brexit is the cause but the EU market has been hit with a big uptick in the supply of British lamb since the summer - a lot coming south from NI too

wrangler

farawaygrass wrote: »

I wouldn’t mind but last spring I thought this was going to be a great year price wise for lambs. Even thought they are bad at the moment, I’m still upping the numbers, and cutting back on sucklers. I know I asked you before but are you still doing profit monitors? What’s the net the last few years?

The last proper year we did was 2016 and we a had a net profit of €42/ewe,
10 ewes/ha lambing 1.5 lambs/ewe inc ewe lambs.
Knocking €10 off the price of the lambs like this year would make a huge difference there if it wasn't to change, We were taking it easy for the last few years and wintering on straw/meal was they easier option but there is option there to reduce wintering costs by €5/ewe with baled silage or more with pit silage, growing forage crops for fattening lambs is way cheaper than meal too.
There was loads of improvements could have been made in our system

Green farmer

Birdnuts wrote: »

Don't know if Brexit is the cause but the EU market has been hit with a big uptick in the supply of British lamb since the summer - a lot coming south from NI too

Last spring the prices should have been really strong. They lost the world of lambs across the water with the beast from the east and lambs were scarce. Instead the factories decided to cut production days, instead of giving us any extra money. That for me, was the last straw of believing a normal functioning market was in place. Coupled to that, we saw what side of the fence creed and bord bia sat on during the beef strike. Agree that the market is flooded with lamb from outside the state, but it’s hard to know where it’s all going to end. Sheep could come good again. But with the factories determined to drive us all out of business, it’s anyones guess that will happen. I’m selling ewe lambs atm. This is the first year I’m not keeping any ewe lambs as replacements and sending them to factory instead. Reducing the flock size after years growing it. Not a nice feeling.

wrangler

Green farmer wrote: »

Last spring the prices should have been really strong. They lost the world of lambs across the water with the beast from the east and lambs were scarce. Instead the factories decided to cut production days, instead of giving us any extra money. That for me, was the last straw of believing a normal functioning market was in place. Coupled to that, we saw what side of the fence creed and bord bia sat on during the beef strike. Agree that the market is flooded with lamb from outside the state, but it’s hard to know where it’s all going to end. Sheep could come good again. But with the factories determined to drive us all out of business, it’s anyones guess that will happen. I’m selling ewe lambs atm. This is the first year I’m not keeping any ewe lambs as replacements and sending them to factory instead. Reducing the flock size after years growing it. Not a nice feeling.

In GB they reckon 500 ewes is a part time farmer and that's our competition.
You'd be expected to have a job off farm, a neighbour here has 250 ewes and works on the buildings........... another few years and we'll need a job with 1000 ewes

Young95

wrangler wrote: »

In GB they reckon 500 ewes is a part time farmer and that's our competition.
You'd be expected to have a job off farm, a neighbour here has 250 ewes and works on the buildings........... another few years and we'll need a job with 1000 ewes

It’ll head towards the New Zealand way eventually.. huge flocks and scale especially if subsidies in the EU are becoming less !

Green farmer

wrangler wrote: »

In GB they reckon 500 ewes is a part time farmer and that's our competition.
You'd be expected to have a job off farm, a neighbour here has 250 ewes and works on the buildings........... another few years and we'll need a job with 1000 ewes

And you’ll need the job just to subsidise the keeping of 1,000 ewes. Maybe your better off keeping 100 ewes instead of 250, low intensity. No fertiliser, no meal, no spending money. Whatever you make then you’ll stand a chance of keeping hold. Only thing is then all the contractors/ agri merchants/ mills etc, will suffer and rural Ireland get more of a battering then it’s already taking.

wrangler

Green farmer wrote: »

And you’ll need the job just to subsidise the keeping of 1,000 ewes. Maybe your better off keeping 100 ewes instead of 250, low intensity. No fertiliser, no meal, no spending money. Whatever you make then you’ll stand a chance of keeping hold. Only thing is then all the contractors/ agri merchants/ mills etc, will suffer and rural Ireland get more of a battering then it’s already taking.

Adam Woods wrote a good piece in this weeks journal criticising the processors lack of foresight in letting beef/lamb producers go to the wall also their inaction at the moment in not killing extra cattle. He reckons it's a ''I'll show you'' attitude on the part of the processors

Green farmer

wrangler wrote: »

He reckons it's a ''I'll show you'' attitude on the part of the processors

I see the ICSA highlighting in the paper the number of foreign lambs being imported and Bord bia turning a blind eye to how their labeled afterward. Makes it very easy for the factory to depress the market.

wrangler

Green farmer wrote: »

I see the ICSA highlighting in the paper the number of foreign lambs being imported and Bord bia turning a blind eye to how their labeled afterward. Makes it very easy for the factory to depress the market.

That's only speculation, they shouldn't open their mouths until they can prove it.
All their doing with what they're at is putting doubts in the minds of our buyers, same as Beef plan badmouthing our beef.
Buyers will use every angle they can to devalue our product and they're being fed plenty of ammunition at the moment by our own farmers

Green farmer

wrangler wrote: »

That's only speculation, they shouldn't open their mouths until they can prove it.

They seem to have a very precise figure of 456,452 in 2018. All their asking for is open transparency, including how there labelled afterward. Not sure what’s wrong with that

wrangler

Green farmer wrote: »

They seem to have a very precise figure of 456,452 in 2018. All their asking for is open transparency, including how there labelled afterward. Not sure what’s wrong with that

Have you a link to that, there'd be loads of Northern lambs in ICM any time I'm there but if the department of ag are letting them be labelled wrong, someones job should be on the line

Green farmer

https://icsaireland.ie/news/transparency-needed-imports-live-sheep/

wrangler

Green farmer wrote: »

https://icsaireland.ie/news/transparency-needed-imports-live-sheep/

They've no proof in that of wrong labelling,I'm not saying it doesn't happen but they should have proof if they publish, ICM export a lot of imported lamb to Great Britain and can call it English lamb.

wrangler

Here is another example, If Corless doesn't name the Line manager it's only hearsay/ pubtalk.
They'll either have to get proper proof or stop what they're at

They must think they're RTE, filming interviews
Probably illegal too

What happened to the link,
Mod, was it illegal or did I not put it up right, did you take it down.

Try it again
https://www.facebook.com/patrick.quinn.391/videos/1534459993385003/UzpfSTEwMDAwNDYzMDUwNTQ0MzpWSzo0NzAxOTIxNDAyNjMzNjM/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

sonnybill

Few free shots at the beef plan there Wrangler, they only highlighted this Summer the excuse and crooked organisation you constantly plugging

RobinBanks

Noticed lambs scratching up against fence posts and gates an awful lot. Pulling at wool as well. Any ideas what might be going on? I’m new to sheep

MIKEKC

RobinBanks wrote: »

Noticed lambs scratching up against fence posts and gates an awful lot. Pulling at wool as well. Any ideas what might be going on? I’m new to sheep

Sheep scab would be number one suspect. Scratch along the sheeps back with your finger, if they turn back their head and grind their teeth 99% certain scab

farawaygrass

wrangler wrote: »

The last proper year we did was 2016 and we a had a net profit of €42/ewe,
10 ewes/ha lambing 1.5 lambs/ewe inc ewe lambs.
Knocking €10 off the price of the lambs like this year would make a huge difference there if it wasn't to change, We were taking it easy for the last few years and wintering on straw/meal was they easier option but there is option there to reduce wintering costs by €5/ewe with baled silage or more with pit silage, growing forage crops for fattening lambs is way cheaper than meal too.
There was loads of improvements could have been made in our system

Definitely need to up my game. Looked at last years national farm survey and it was 33e per ewe. Nothing to write home about.

wrangler

farawaygrass wrote: »

Definitely need to up my game. Looked at last years national farm survey and it was 33e per ewe. Nothing to write home about.

It's a numbers game and keep costs down.
If I put up my figures here, ie selling 1.5lambs/ewe at €100/lamb and costs of around €100/ewe, Posters here will argue that it doesn't cost €100/ewe so it's possible to do better. also we had poor prolificacy due to a bunch of rams we used for breeding ewe lambs.......ten years ago we were averaging 2.1 in the mature ewes, 2016 was 1.8 , all these things make a difference..especially with the numbers involved

Young95

wrangler wrote: »

It's a numbers game and keep costs down.
If I put up my figures here, ie selling 1.5lambs/ewe at €100/lamb and costs of around €100/ewe, Posters here will argue that it doesn't cost €100/ewe so it's possible to do better. also we had poor prolificacy due to a bunch of rams we used for breeding ewe lambs.......ten years ago we were averaging 2.1 in the mature ewes, 2016 was 1.8 , all these things make a difference..especially with the numbers involved

What breed rams were u using to drop the prolificacy?

wrangler

Young95 wrote: »

What breed rams were u using to drop the prolificacy?

Lleyns, but I have been using Lleyns for twenty years, it was just one batch and it affected the flock for a couple years didn't keep them too long

Country lad

2 cc of ivomec classic and then give another 2 cc a week later should clear it up for you

kk.man

Country lad wrote: »

2 cc of ivomec classic and then give another 2 cc a week later should clear it up for you

I personally wouldn't go with 2 cc. I think the dose for cattle is 1cc for every 50kg.
With lambs I vary from 0.5 to 0.75 depending on weight and I have no issues with lice since.

Country lad

Sorry you right always give ewes 2cc ivomec less than half of that for lambs ��

Dickie10

does anyone know of a good mineral dose for ewe lambs that will go through a dosing gun without blocking it, so something without grit in it.

ganmo

Dickie10 wrote: »

does anyone know of a good mineral dose for ewe lambs that will go through a dosing gun without blocking it, so something without grit in it.

What mineral drenches have you used that have grit in them?

wrangler

ganmo wrote: »

What mineral drenches have you used that have grit in them?

When we put cobalt in the worm dose we have to put the dose through a tea strainer to ensure it doesn't clog the dosing gun.
Maybe some doses sediments out too if left for a while