What would you be willing to pay?

DJ98

I am very curious about this as a lot of the time when I'm in the mart perhaps looking for ewes or ram I often think too myself sure that's too expensive or are they really worth that. I know you pay for what you get but I'm curious to know what are or would people be willing to pay for hogget ewes or a ram, I'm not talking about purebred pedigree stock. Just stock for the commercial farmer. Or are most people nowadays focusing on breeding there own replacement stock rather than buying in. Thank you

Lambman

Going on last year i gave €160 for hoggets and looking around that day was happy enough till get them at it prices were mad seen hoggets going €180-190.... as for rams it is very much you get what you pay for gave €400 last year for a purebred lamb that really took my liking... but if I were changing rams this year I'd be looking at an older ram as even 3 year old rams dont seem till make near as much as hoggets or ram lambs... and if u get 2-3 years outta him he'll owe u nothing.

Willfarman

I favour the youth for value and longevity..

I buy ewe lambs at similar money to what my own hang up at. And pedigree ram lambs @ 250 to 300. Wouldn't give more than 150 for ahogget.

Lambman

Willfarman wrote: »

I favour the youth for value and longevity..

I buy ewe lambs at similar money to what my own hang up at. And pedigree ram lambs @ 250 to 300. Wouldn't give more than 150 for ahogget.

But your not gonna be keeping him longer than 2 years if your keeping replacements outta him? Then he will be 3-4 years old and not worth half the money...

Willfarman

Lambman wrote: »

But your not gonna be keeping him longer than 2 years if your keeping replacements outta him? Then he will be 3-4 years old and not worth half the money...

I buy most of my replacements however the last Suffolk ram a few years back
had cost 320 as a lamb and brought 350 as a 3 year old. But I know what your saying.

Lambman

Yea if your buying your replacements i agree with buying a young ram... so you sell all ewe lambs every year? Is it because your breeding is very terminal or what's the reason?

Green farmer

Breeding my own replacements here out of a llyen I bought as a ram lamb at €250. Going to buy in new terminal ram, up to €350 is about as much as I'm comfortable with. like getting a blank canvass and the first use with sheep. Never had any luck buying in anything older then a Hogget , of either sex. You'll always have mortality with sheep, but stings abit less then it's a home breed one vs a hogget or ram you paid top dollar for.

razor8

Ive bought rams here from €400 to €900 and the dearest was one the best ram i ever had, i let him out with 100 ewes most years and so far he has sired shy of 700 lambs

ive given up to €180 for ewe lambs with the idea that they would form the nucleas of the flock to breed replacements

Green farmer

All I want is abit of luck with a ram whether he's expensive or not. Frustratingly factory only will pay the same price per kg for a lamb out of a 5* as a crossbreed ram. No industry incentive to reward a premium product.

razor8

Green farmer wrote: »

All I want is abit of luck with a ram whether he's expensive or not. Frustratingly factory only will pay the same price per kg for a lamb out of a 5* as a crossbreed ram. No industry incentive to reward a premium product.

my aim is to get lambs out the gate as soon as possible and i'm prepared to pay the money to get the best ram to achieve that. factories cant influence that

Green farmer

razor8 wrote: »

my aim is to get lambs out the gate as soon as possible and i'm prepared to pay the money to get the best ram to achieve that. factories cant influence that

Cannt argue with that. But quite often it's down to budget. When you've loads of holes to fill, id prefer to put it towards reseeding a few acres then on a ram.

razor8

Green farmer wrote: »

Cannt argue with that. But quite often it's down to budget. When you've loads of holes to fill, id prefer to put it towards reseeding a few acres then on a ram.

if you spread the cost of the ram across his lambs over his lifetime at say 70 ewes for 5 seasons at 1.7 lambs per ewe that nearly 600 lambs to dilute the costs. think of the savings on meal/grass etc

Green farmer

razor8 wrote: »

if you spread the cost of the ram across his lambs over his lifetime at say 70 ewes for 5 seasons at 1.7 lambs per ewe that nearly 600 lambs to dilute the costs. think of the savings on meal/grass etc

I agree with you razor. A quality ram will pay for himself. Just not everyone can afford it. The other option I'm doing is buying a ram of a less popular breed. A top notch Hampshire might go as well as what a lad would pay for a mediocre Charlie for instance, and preform just as well.

Lambman

Also a fan off getting in the right ram as you say he's half your lambs every year so IMO worth shelling out for a good one... saying that I seen a neighbour paying top money for a massive looking well bred 5* texel ram who didn't leave his mark on the lambs they were small compared till previous years but that's a different argument for another day... anybody looking at replacement rams yet? Not long till the shows starts.

Cran

Keep my own Rams here, but before that think 680 was most ever paid for terminal ram on the commercials. Spent 900 each on two Rams to bred commercial ewe lambs last year. Pedigree wise it's more about finding right ram than budget I find....

One thing on above budgets if I had pedigree ram lambs here and thought only worth 300, they'd be in the factory at Easter.

Willfarman

Cran wrote: »

Keep my own Rams here, but before that think 680 was most ever paid for terminal ram on the commercials. Spent 900 each on two Rams to bred commercial ewe lambs last year. Pedigree wise it's more about finding right ram than budget I find....

One thing on above budgets if I had pedigree ram lambs here and thought only worth 300, they'd be in the factory at Easter.

110 Euro at Easter vs 300 in October? I'd say you would all right.

Cran

Willfarman wrote: »

110 Euro at Easter vs 300 in October? I'd say you would all right.

128 here for culls this year, back on other years. Mind & feed till October & then sell below standard product for that much more, no thanks not aim of system here.

Willfarman

Cran wrote: »

128 here for culls this year, back on other years. Mind & feed till October & then sell below standard product for that much more, no thanks not aim of system here.

300 - 128 is 172 euro. Feed from march till October is grass. That'd be a respectable margin on a good Charolais bullock never mind a lamb..

Cran

Willfarman wrote: »

300 - 128 is 172 euro. Feed from march till October is grass. That'd be a respectable margin on a good Charolais bullock never mind a lamb..

If your buying Rams at 300 they have faults or lower end € invested in their genetics. I'm not having a go, just saying I wouldn't sell them.

Aim here is to breed and sell rams I would use myself anything not happy with is factoried, but it's each to their own tbf.

Ard_MC

Green farmer wrote: »

Breeding my own replacements here out of a llyen I bought as a ram lamb at €250. Going to buy in new terminal ram, up to €350 is about as much as I'm comfortable with. like getting a blank canvass and the first use with sheep. Never had any luck buying in anything older then a Hogget , of either sex. You'll always have mortality with sheep, but stings abit less then it's a home breed one vs a hogget or ram you paid top dollar for.

€300 to €600 is my budget. But i have gone the opposite way to you. Got fed up off overfed ram lambs and shearlings so bought a 3yr old last yr for €220 and he has thrown some serious stuff.

Breed most of my replacements but €150 is the most i paid for hoggets. Never buy older ewes.

Green farmer

Cran wrote: »

Aim here is to breed and sell rams I would use myself anything not happy with is factoried, but it's each to their own tbf.

If I had the budget for something around €600, I'd gladly buy from you cran, as I suspect you care about the stock and the product your producing. Unfortunate there's plenty of lads out there that are flogging rubbish for big money. Using the same genes that has always been on there and covering up with meal instead of culling.

Cran

Green farmer wrote: »

If I had the budget for something around €600, I'd gladly buy from you cran, as I suspect you care about the stock and the product your producing. Unfortunate there's plenty of lads out there that are flogging rubbish for big money. Using the same genes that has always been on there and covering up with meal instead of culling.

Totally agree and reason why I mainly sell direct from the house, & lambs are not €600 btw wish they were ðŸ˜. Sell both lambs & grass reared April hoggets here.

I was only thinking about it yesterday, have only sold 10 Rams through the ring past 6 years of which 5 went to breeders. Have sold multiples of that number from the house on 1st come 1st served basis. There are loads of good breeders out there across all breeds, just finding them sometimes is the problem. Vast majority of ram buyers still buy size & with their eyes only.

Lano Lynn

get to see all sorts while out shearing....a good ram is easily worth 600 to 1000 but I have seen very few of them over the last few years.......and this is really getting to ram buyers disgusted with what they thought was a good sheep turning into a middling shearling while their neighbours crossbred for a quarter the price is a giant .would always have an eye out for good ram lambs and have only seen one this year!

rangler1

Lano Lynn wrote: »

get to see all sorts while out shearing....a good ram is easily worth 600 to 1000 but I have seen very few of them over the last few years.......and this is really getting to ram buyers disgusted with what they thought was a good sheep turning into a middling shearling while their neighbours crossbred for a quarter the price is a giant .would always have an eye out for good ram lambs and have only seen one this year!

You breed to suit the market, most farmers neglect ram lambs, turn them into screws as hoggets, but most rams get over that and are fine at two year old.
If I had giant as you call them he'd be slaughtered as they usually have neither tail end or shoulder......I used to contract shear too, like you I've seen it all

Green farmer

Lano Lynn wrote: »

.....and this is really getting to ram buyers disgusted with what they thought was a good sheep turning into a middling shearling !

Those are nearly the identical words that came out of the mouth of a mate of mine who paid €600 for ram lamb a year or two back to a local top notch breeder here. He was totally disgusted after the lamb was sheared.

Cran

Green farmer wrote: »

Those are nearly the identical words that came out of the mouth of a mate of mine who paid €600 for ram lamb a year or two back to a local top notch breeder here. He was totally disgusted after the lamb was sheared.

I'd agree with that but have one question. How do you convince same fella to buy midling looking grass reared shearling for same money, & then following year see diffference when shorn?
That's the problem really lot of these guys breeding like this because buyers buying for size

Green farmer

Cran wrote: »

I'd agree with that but have one question. How do you convince same fella to buy midling looking grass reared shearling for same money, & then following year see diffference when shorn?
That's the problem really lot of these guys breeding like this because buyers buying for size

You cannt. As long as a % of the breeders are selling forced fed Rams, then you either keep up with them or get left behind.

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

Those are nearly the identical words that came out of the mouth of a mate of mine who paid €600 for ram lamb a year or two back to a local top notch breeder here. He was totally disgusted after the lamb was sheared.

pedigree breeders aren't miracle workers, you wouldn't treat a ewe lamb the way ram lambs are treated after sale, It used to sicken me to see some of the places our rams went to, but like I say when they'd be two year old they'd be fine We have to get them fit for the job, they need to be 70 kilos, so they need to be fed, however they're sold then and put out with ewes and not many are fed after the season.
You should know better than any one what happens to ram lambs and then of course blame the breeder for feeding them

Lano Lynn

bought a couple of ram lambs 4 years ago they were going to be killed guy asked 200 a piece they both bred well one in particular I have a son of his that is breeding excellently will go back to that breeder again on the other hand paid 500 for a hogget last year from a 'top breeder' was really looking forward to his lambs......he didnt breed true..... they are sh1te...he is still a fine sheep but not going to be here this september
(could b worse was prepared to go to 800 on him)

rangler1

Lano Lynn wrote: »

bought a couple of ram lambs 4 years ago they were going to be killed guy asked 200 a piece they both bred well one in particular I have a son of his that is breeding excellently will go back to that breeder again on the other hand paid 500 for a hogget last year from a 'top breeder' was really looking forward to his lambs......he didnt breed true..... they are sh1te...he is still a fine sheep but not going to be here this september
(could b worse was prepared to go to 800 on him)

Surely you checked his stars...:rolleyes:.

Green farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

pedigree breeders aren't miracle workers,

Not saying they are, but my issue is some breeders take every single ram lamb born that year and sell them as pedigrees, screws and all. Unlike Cran, they don't cull properly and just cover with meal. Then the end user get stung and think twice about buying a second time.

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

Not saying they are, but my issue is some breeders take every single ram lamb born that year and sell them as pedigrees, screws and all. Unlike Cran, they don't cull properly and just cover with meal. Then the end user get stung and think twice about buying a second time.

Meal won't make a good ram out of a bad one, it won't give them a good rear end, eye muscle or shoulder, if you're fooled by a breeder brushing up the wool on a rams rear end to make it look fuller, well then you will be disappointed when you shear him.
If they're good on those three places and good size for age you won't go too far wrong

Lano Lynn

rangler1 wrote: »

Surely you checked his stars...:rolleyes:.

they are not a breed participating in the 'stars'
if they were I would check
like you I prefered the old LMI system and would have bought high muscle AND high fat rams .the stars you cant tell.