Clipping Charge

kk.man

I got my returns from Kepak and i noticed a clipping change attached of 25c per head. Kepak stipulate in a letter attached that they are three categories a. Clean sheep no charge b. Dirty sheep 25c per head c. Sheep unfit to be slaughtered. They define dirty sheep as dirty and or wet.
My sheep were not dirty, they were in the house on hay and meal for the last 7 weeks, they were loaded by my agent and kepak haulier.

My grip is if they were wet thats Kepaks fault as their haulier has unsuitable transport facilities thus the charge should be deducted from his transport payment. I believe ICM doesn't define or catergeorise what are dirty sheep.

I can/have to accept a low price but this is a new low

rangler1

kk.man wrote: »

I got my returns from Kepak and i noticed a clipping change attached of 25c per head. Kepak stipulate in a letter attached that they are three categories a. Clean sheep no charge b. Dirty sheep 25c per head c. Sheep unfit to be slaughtered. They define dirty sheep as dirty and or wet.
My sheep were not dirty, they were in the house on hay and meal for the last 7 weeks, they were loaded by my agent and kepak haulier.

My grip is if they were wet thats Kepaks fault as their haulier has unsuitable transport facilities thus the charge should be deducted from his transport payment. I believe ICM doesn't define or catergeorise what are dirty sheep.

I can accept a low price but this is a new low

ICM are charging 20c on every lamb since october.
We always have the lambs in over night and have had them held back till the end of the day because of their bellies being wet, even when it's only my lambs in the pen on the lorry. so it's only their own pee that's wetting them and I've seen them come off the lorry very wet.....maybe I should be witholding water overnight.
Also there's farmers that just get them in out of the field that load them straight away and if you're unfortunate enough to be sharing a box in the lorry with their lambs you're really fecked, they destroy other lambs.
Do kepak pay your transport or just arrange transport

Willfarman

20cent a sheep while significant if you kill a lot sheep, is a minor issue in comparison to lamb prices being around 70 cent a kilo or 15 euro a head shy of where they need to be to allow a minimum margin.

kk.man

rangler1 wrote: »

ICM are charging 20c on every lamb since october.
We always have the lambs in over night and have had them held back till the end of the day because of their bellies being wet, even when it's only my lambs in the pen on the lorry. so it's only their own pee that's wetting them and I've seen them come off the lorry very wet.....maybe I should be witholding water overnight.
Also there's farmers that just get them in out of the field that load them straight away and if you're unfortunate enough to be sharing a box in the lorry with their lambs you're really fecked, they destroy other lambs.
Do kepak pay your transport or just arrange transport

They deduct 2.00 per head from my cheque...thus I see it as their issue

rangler1

kk.man wrote: »

They deduct 2.00 per head from my cheque...thus I see it as their issue

Don't think our group will be going down that route, it'd be another 30c/lamb if the farmer paid the transport.
Is the lorry clean when you're loading, nothing more they can do if it's a pezzoli like trailer, we use sawdust which is nearly worse if there's dirty lambs on board...really helps it stick

kk.man

rangler1 wrote: »

Don't think our group will be going down that route, it'd be another 30c/lamb if the farmer paid the transport.
Is the lorry clean when you're loading, nothing more they can do if it's a pezzoli like trailer, we use sawdust which is nearly worse if there's dirty lambs on board...really helps it stick

The trailer was spotless when they were loaded however that's only one part of the journey... they are then dropped off at a collection point and re-loaded to larger lorry which transports them to the factory

rangler1

kk.man wrote: »

The trailer was spotless when they were loaded however that's only one part of the journey... they are then dropped off at a collection point and re-loaded to larger lorry which transports them to the factory

I'd say they're clipping everything and the scoring is only a joke. don't know why they don't just deduct it off the per kilo price and not be annoying everyone

kk.man

rangler1 wrote: »

I'd say they're clipping everything and the scoring is only a joke. don't know why they don't just deduct it off the per kilo price and not be annoying everyone

I concur completely. Spoke with an IFA Rep who had a meeting with ICM and they were informed it was because of dirty sheep last year however last year is long past!

ganmo

the phrase 'death by a thousand cuts' springs to mind

rangler1

ganmo wrote: »

the phrase 'death by a thousand cuts' springs to mind

The lamb pays for everything anyway...you can be sure of that

greysides

kk.man wrote: »

I concur completely. Spoke with an IFA Rep who had a meeting with ICM and they were informed it was because of dirty sheep last year however last year is long past!

I do TVI work in a sheep factory. I can say after years of observation, that for sheep carcases to be presented clean at the scales for PM inspection they need to be clean and dry at slaughter. From the point of view of food safety it really is as simple as that.

The problem with dirty sheep is year round but peaks during the winter months when sheep are coming off of clay fields. Other times it is more sporadic. This is a consistent yearly cycle.

One lot will be 'unsatisfactory' coming to the scales. Maybe 30-90% will need more trimming on the detained rail, having already been trimmed. (Trimming that reduces carcase value to the factory- not sure if it feeds back to the farmer except as lighter carcases.) The lot will then change to a new supplier and, just like that, suddenly all carcases are acceptable.

So there is something in the way the different lots have been transported/kept that makes that happen. Lots that have been transported long distances are often cleaner, in fact, usually cleaner. Whatever way they are treated before and during the trip it is allowing them to come up the line cleaner. Some of the dirtiest lots haven't travelled far.

Standards and the demands of retail customers have increased over the years. Abattoir procedures are changing and these changes are working to a degree. Large progress has been made with dealing with sheep coming in dirty, to the degree that I am astounded how clean they are presented at the scales having seen them on entry to the killing line. I think the clipping of bellies is part of what has made this happen. No factory wants to clip the lambs as it devalues the fleece so it's a reluctant additional measure.

The major concern is E. coli O157 which is a cause of serious food poisoning in humans. Modern consumers do not have the prior exposure to environmental bugs that was once more common and so are more prone to food poisoning.

So, I'm not getting into the money side of this argument as it's something I've no experience of but I am saying that clipping and other measures to ensure clean/dry lambs are presented for slaughter are necessary for food safety.