Will there be anybody left lambing?

Bleating Lamb

Don't know what trade for hoggetts is like elsewhere but in NW they are very quiet trade this year.Saw lovely speckled faced hoggetts in Ballyshannon that cost 95 euro as lambs sold for 127 euro! the other night.Personally I wouldn't have taken it for them but the trade was poor on the night.
Special sales of hoggetts in both Dowra and Manorhamilton saw very few lots make over 150 euro and for 130 euro you would get strong Suffolk or Mountain x hoggetts.

So if that's the trade this year what will it be like when the market is flooded next year?
Strangely a quality ewe Lamb is still a good trade ....anything with a bit of strength and quality is over 80 euro.

J.O. Farmer

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

So if that's the trade this year what will it be like when the market is flooded next year?
Strangely a quality ewe Lamb is still a good trade ....anything with a bit of strength and quality is over 80 euro.

Them sort of ewe lambs will be worth it as lambs for killing anyway.
I don't know if it's the year we've had but a lot of hoggets just don't seem fully as strong as other years like they haven't throve as good as they would have other years.
I think there's the same thing happening with the ewe lambs. Other years would good ewe lambs not be going well over the hundred and there's not so many of them this year.

cattle man

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Don't know what trade for hoggetts is like elsewhere but in NW they are very quiet trade this year.Saw lovely speckled faced hoggetts in Ballyshannon that cost 95 euro as lambs sold for 127 euro! the other night.Personally I wouldn't have taken it for them but the trade was poor on the night.
Special sales of hoggetts in both Dowra and Manorhamilton saw very few lots make over 150 euro and for 130 euro you would get strong Suffolk or Mountain x hoggetts.

So if that's the trade this year what will it be like when the market is flooded next year?
Strangely a quality ewe Lamb is still a good trade ....anything with a bit of strength and quality is over 80 euro.

To be honest I was in Manorhamilton and bought hoggets out of it and anything of any power or quality was making over 150.
Quality Suffolk hoggets made 150-195.
Even cross bred hoggets were making 150 plus.

I'd say there's roughly 60 euro of a margin from buying lambs to selling as a hogget to work with.

Hoggets making over 150-160 would cost 100 as lambs.

Bleating Lamb

cattle man wrote: »

To be honest I was in Manorhamilton and bought hoggets out of it and anything of any power or quality was making over 150.
Quality Suffolk hoggets made 150-195.
Even cross bred hoggets were making 150 plus.

I'd say there's roughly 60 euro of a margin from buying lambs to selling as a hogget to work with.

Hoggets making over 150-160 would cost 100 as lambs.

Pm
Sent.

AntrimGlens

cattle man wrote: »

[quote=

I'd say there's roughly 60 euro of a margin from buying lambs to selling as a hogget to work with.

Hoggets making over 150-160 would cost 100 as lambs.

There's no more than sixty quid in it, but you have to know what you're buying and from where. I've bought lambs for years of the same men as I know they're genuine hill sheep and just coming off a hard run. Now I'll be good to them and they'll get well grazed but they're not spending their time on lowland fields of flush grass. I can turn them inside out with a good bolus, worming regime and quality silage. Men buy them off me who've bought before as they know they're hardy sheep, won't melt and are of a good health status. I just need to have a margin in mind and stick to buying at an average price. I stand round the rings with the men buying Suffolk/cheviot lambs giving up to £130 but they're putting them onto some of the best ground up here and still only getting a £45/50 margin at them. Those lambs would never thrive on my ground as they were too pushed as lambs. I saw a guy the other night sell mule hoggs at £100 that he bought as lambs for £72. They were hungered and left no margin at that.