store lamb trade

Dickie10

anyone know when the store lambs start appearing in maam cross or kenmare marts? im in the market for about 100. got them up from kenmare a few years ago did really well.

anyone know of any other marts which have good store lambs from marginal lands

ganmo

http://www.blessingtonmart.ie/MarketReports/tabid/103/post/sheep-sales-report---27th-june-2017/Default.aspx

Dickie10

would blessington lambs not be a bit too good of ground, plus i have to compete with all the farmers in great land such as kildare and wexford looking for them. maam cross and kenmare suits great because more dairy men surroundiing the lowlands around kenmare mart, and they have no interest in them

Username John

Dickie10 wrote: »

would blessington lambs not be a bit too good of ground, plus i have to compete with all the farmers in great land such as kildare and wexford looking for them. maam cross and kenmare suits great because more dairy men surroundiing the lowlands around kenmare mart, and they have no interest in them

Are they that much cheaper? And how much is trabsport from kenmare?

The link there said 30kg lambs at 70euro - now, it all depends on the lambs. But I would have thought that would be as good as you'd get?

ganmo

There is plenty of poorer land in the catchment area of blessington. There's another mart in Baltinglass which attracts the continental type lambs at the weekend.
It's an option, I've no idea about kenmare or maam.

sheepfarmer92

My father bought lambs in kenmare, dingle and milltown for years, last time was two years ago usually suffolky types, around 60 euro for 30 odd kilos draws them himself with a small lorry, he often bought a 4 hundred at a time and it cost 4 euro a head to bring them up in a artic, some years he made good money and some years they wouldnt, always found them to be a lot cheaper than lambs out the west and donegal

Farmer_3650

Dickie10 wrote: »

would blessington lambs not be a bit too good of ground, plus i have to compete with all the farmers in great land such as kildare and wexford looking for them. maam cross and kenmare suits great because more dairy men surroundiing the lowlands around kenmare mart, and they have no interest in them

Don't know about Kenmare but I went down to maam cross around this time last year. I didn't think there was a great selection of lambs in it.

Ard_MC

Farmer_3650 wrote: »

Don't know about Kenmare but I went down to maam cross around this time last year. I didn't think there was a great selection of lambs in it.

Would be another month to 6 weeks till the hill lambs be comin on sale id say.

Dickie10

yeah i thought it might be a bit early alright. yes when i bought them in kenmare a fe years ago i got them left in the yard for 67.50. they weighed between 28-33kg

orm0nd

the first of the kerry lambs have landed in meath

https://twitter.com/gaulstownfarms/status/882717870668623872

ganmo

this weeks report
http://www.blessingtonmart.ie/MarketReports/tabid/103/post/sheep-sales-report---11th-july-2017/Default.aspx

Dickie10

where in kerry did they come from??

memorystick

what are they costing in the yard?

farming93

Got a text off the mart (wanted ram lambs 42kg plus, no suffolks.. texel charlois etc will be accepted paying 2.20/kg

Username John

farming93 wrote: »

Got a text off the mart (wanted ram lambs 42kg plus, no suffolks.. texel charlois etc will be accepted paying 2.20/kg

Why no suffolks do you know?

farming93

Im not sure tbh , I just re read the text and have attached it if you can see the attachment?

cattle man

farming93 wrote: »

Im not sure tbh , I just re read the text and have attached it if you can see the attachment?

What mart is that's looking for the lambs ?
I assume it's for export ?

Thanks farming93

farming93

cattle man wrote: »

What mart is that's looking for the lambs ?
I assume it's for export ?

Thanks farming93

No bother cattle man, its tullow Mart. Yeah id say its for export .

J.O. Farmer

farming93 wrote: »

Got a text off the mart (wanted ram lambs 42kg plus, no suffolks.. texel charlois etc will be accepted paying 2.20/kg

I was in the mart this evening and it sounds alright for lambs 42 or 43 kg but I'd say lambs 45kg+ were making that anyway.

I can't remember exact weights and prices but I think I was figuring in and around 2.20/kg.

Heavier lambs were making a bit more per kg than lighter lambs.

kk.man

I think they are looking for ram lambs only.

tomwaterford

How long would a round bale of hay last 30 odd store lambs say 30 - 35 kgs

kk.man

tomwaterford wrote: »

How long would a round bale of hay last 30 odd store lambs say 30 - 35 kgs

when they get used to it I would 5 days with them getting meals inside.

memorystick

What's the best type of lamb to buy? Are the mountain type from Achill Island or Dingle any good? Fencing would be fair but would feed meal from October on.

MayoAreMagic

memorystick wrote: »

What's the best type of lamb to buy? Are the mountain type from Achill Island or Dingle any good? Fencing would be fair but would feed meal from October on.

Achill lambs will average in around 25-30 kg, but they tend to mend well when they come to better land, and the land is better generally anywhere in the country where there is a bit of decent grass. They wont make monsters but they are a hardy type of lamb that should look after themselves and make a nice return with minimum input. Because of this they are quite popular.

Re Dingle lambs will be a couple of kilos heavier on average when you are buying them. They will have a stronger bone but they will be a nice bit softer. Take a look at the lambs Ormond posted earlier in the thread. Those are good strong crossbred lambs coming off the hill. The hills out west wouldn't be able to maintain them to that level, which means the land is a fair bit better in Dingle/Kerry than it is in Achill/Mayo. So you would probably need better quality land to get a good return with these than the other type with. Either that or more meal.

That doesn't make them bad lambs, and they might suit plenty of people, but it is something worth keeping in mind when comparing the two. In my own experience, any dingle breed rams that came to mayo and went to a hill, seemed to melt away badly. But then them cute Kerry boys might only be sending their worst up our direction!

Willfarman

tomwaterford wrote: »

How long would a round bale of hay last 30 odd store lambs say 30 - 35 kgs

Hay would do nothing for lambs.

tomwaterford

Willfarman wrote: »

Hay would do nothing for lambs.

As roughage??

Id fancy hay to be a higher quality feed than grass at height of the winter?



All going well il be in market for a batch of store lambs October 12 months

Willfarman

tomwaterford wrote: »

As roughage??

Id fancy hay to be a higher quality feed than grass at height of the winter?



All going well il be in market for a batch of store lambs October 12 months

If they have a dry lie the winter grass is the very bet. And a kg of meal with it.

tomwaterford

Willfarman wrote: »

If they have a dry lie the winter grass is the very bet. And a kg of meal with it.

I remain to be convinced of this,always noticed a drop off in thrive from mid September (tbf I could probably do with reseeding)

Though it's admittedly cheaper,top quality hay/silage must be better feedstuff than grass grown in milling rain and limited sunlight of winter??



Id love to do the experiment of 50 indoors vs 50 outdoors on same level of meal and compare daily liveweight gain


(Also I have ewes needing grass early March aswell! )

Willfarman

Not a chance. That pick of leafy deep green grass is powerful stuff for the woolly vermin compared to any bale. Unless it's spilling rain. And then the shed and ad lib meal is the only option which is a disaster if price isn't around the 6€ a kg mark.

ganmo

Hay should only be used in a finishing diet as a fibre source and then straw is cheaper.

tomwaterford

ganmo wrote: »

Hay should only be used in a finishing diet as a fibre source and then straw is cheaper.

What about silage/haylage...have it in abundance/easily bought around my area!

Willfarman

tomwaterford wrote: »

What about silage/haylage...have it in abundance/easily bought around my area!

Obviously better than hay. But trying to get any gain on lambs this way would be a waste of time. Have to get get as much gain as possible off grass and then if weather and ground detioriate it's meal meal and more meal.

ganmo

Ya depending on quality it could make up most of the diet supplemented with meal

drive it

Got a text this evening from a lad that organises a couple of lads to buy stores said that it looks like there not going to buy any lambs this year and said another lad that usually buys a few thousand lambs isn't to interested either. Between them all they'd take well over 10,000 lambs from around these parts (west mayo).

Willfarman

drive it wrote: »

Got a text this evening from a lad that organises a couple of lads to buy stores said that it looks like there not going to buy any lambs this year and said another lad that usually buys a few thousand lambs isn't to interested either. Between them all they'd take well over 10,000 lambs from around these parts (west mayo).

Give rangler a shout. He knows some lads with contracts. They'll come and take up the slack maybe.

Hard Knocks

drive it wrote: »

Got a text this evening from a lad that organises a couple of lads to buy stores said that it looks like there not going to buy any lambs this year and said another lad that usually buys a few thousand lambs isn't to interested either. Between them all they'd take well over 10,000 lambs from around these parts (west mayo).

Is there a particular reason to why they're not buying this year

Willfarman

The last two years on the trot have been an mitigated disaster. Two years ago due to a horrendously wet winter and wet early spring. This spring due to a cartel and live hoggets coming in from the uk to make sure they were never short for any contract while leaving local producers with crippling losses.

drive it

Hard Knocks wrote: »

Is there a particular reason to why they're not buying this year

Think they got caught paying dear early on for good lambs but did better with the lighter lambs when the prices picked up in the New year.

Willfarman

I must of been busy snagging turnips when that rise came?

MD1983

What are lads planning on the stores this year, i am reducing numbers due to lack of profitability last year, have 200 at present and might not get more than 500. I dont think I am the only one thinking along these lines.

Reasons for reducing numbers:

1. weak sterling means UK lamb more competitive and harms exports
2. poor prices last year
3. actions by factories to keep prices suppressed last year, same again this year most likely
4. Young baby at home and busy at work

Are there any positives that lads can see that would give reason for optimism?

If there is not as much demand for stores will lads finish the lambs themselves or straight to factory?

Willfarman

Only bought a hundred here back from 250ish most likely years. Wasn't goin to buy any but when i see lambs cheaper than I can produce them my inner demon made me do it!