making a living out of sheep

derferjam · 03-04-2014 12:28AM #1

hi all is there anyone making a living on a sheep only farm? if so what sort of numbers do you have and you yane in door or out?

Nekarsulm · 05-04-2014 07:51AM

Define "living" !
No point asking a bunch of lads and lassie who clearly love hardship .

Conmaicne Mara · 05-04-2014 12:25PM

derferjam wrote: »

hi all is there anyone making a living on a sheep only farm? if so what sort of numbers do you have and you yane in door or out?

There's a hard question. It depends on what you deem a "living" to be, what system you intend high input for high output or low input for low output (I prefer low input for high output but not perfected it yet

), the land size and quality available, and what subsidies you can claim.

Teagasc had figures last June in Athenry at their sheep do, now those figures were based on returns farmers made to Teagasc so may not necessarily represent the best or worst of ALL sectors, that info is probably still up on their site if you were to look.

Lano Lynn · 05-04-2014 08:42PM

the secret to making a small fortune in farming is to start with a large one.

very much depends on what you call a living.
and it depends on how its set up if you have a life.:)

AnFeirmeoir · 05-04-2014 08:48PM

Suppose if I only ate lamb I could do it. What would you get through a lamb a fortnight per adult?

Birdnuts · 06-04-2014 12:07AM

What struck me about that Lambing live programme on the Beeb a few weeks ago, was that despite your mans very professional and well run set-up, he wouldn't be making any money at all without his interest in that farm shop:(

derferjam · 08-04-2014 08:39PM

What I meant by living was is there anyone making 25k+ from sheep

tomwaterford · 08-04-2014 09:49PM

derferjam wrote: »

What I meant by living was is there anyone making 25k+ from sheep

ICM Camolin??

all joking aside...at e50 a lamb profit which is at high side youd want 50K lambs:eek:

Username John · 08-04-2014 10:01PM

tomwaterford wrote: »

ICM Camolin??

all joking aside...at e50 a lamb profit which is at high side youd want 50K lambs:eek:

I'd say 500 lambs at 50quid profit would get you close enough to the 25k...

tomwaterford · 08-04-2014 10:03PM

Username John wrote: »

I'd say 500 lambs at 50quid profit would get you close enough to the 25k...

you are correct:D
god I need sleep with all this lambing:pac:

that being said how many ewes would you need to be selling 700 lambs and breeding your own replacements
allowing 10K a year for improvements like reseending,fenceing etc

Wooly Admirer · 08-04-2014 10:05PM

€50 profit per lamb will not happen. Top third of Teagasc profit monitor farmers making €20 profit per ewe. Stock at 10 per Ha = €200/Ha. With this performance you'll have your 25K with 125HA (1250 ewes).

No payments included here of course.

tomwaterford · 08-04-2014 10:07PM

Wooly Admirer wrote: »

€50 profit per lamb will not happen. Top third of Teagasc profit monitor farmers making €20 profit per ewe. Stock at 10 per Ha = €200/Ha. With this performance you'll have your 25K with 125HA (1250 ewes).

No payments included here of course.

long term you should be planning for less and less payments IMO

that is a depressing low figure (true an all as it is)...I do be trying to build to e50 a lamb...someday hopfully...if only I could get them to convert rushes to gold/oil

Conmaicne Mara · 08-04-2014 10:18PM

Wooly Admirer wrote: »

€50 profit per lamb will not happen. Top third of Teagasc profit monitor farmers making €20 profit per ewe. Stock at 10 per Ha = €200/Ha. With this performance you'll have your 25K with 125HA (1250 ewes).

No payments included here of course.

The problem there is those results, as you rightly pointed out, are only from farmers who completed a Teagasc Profit monitor. That may not necessarily reflect the true figures within the sheep sector, could be skewed massively one way or another depending on the make up of farms and systems within those results.

Wooly Admirer · 08-04-2014 10:26PM

The ones completing a profit monitor are the ones that are looking closely at their system and most likely to be making use of best management practices etc.

The farmers completing the profit monitor are better than your average sheep farmer, so the figures being recorded by the top third, are the very tops of the industry. IMO.

Conmaicne Mara · 08-04-2014 10:32PM

Wooly Admirer wrote: »

The ones completing a profit monitor are the ones that are looking closely at their system and most likely to be making use of best management practices etc.

The farmers completing the profit monitor are better than your average sheep farmer, so the figures being recorded by the top third, are the very tops of the industry. IMO.

They may be looking at their system, but to say they're the top third depends on their starting point. For example, completing a profit monitor is one of the measures of STAP, one I chose this year in addition to another two, just for the craic tbh.

Lano Lynn · 08-04-2014 10:37PM

Wooly Admirer wrote: »

€50 profit per lamb will not happen. Top third of Teagasc profit monitor farmers making €20 profit per ewe. Stock at 10 per Ha = €200/Ha. With this performance you'll have your 25K with 125HA (1250 ewes).

No payments included here of course.

when u consider aeos 1 pays e869/ha for bird cover !

Conmaicne Mara · 08-04-2014 10:40PM

Lano Lynn wrote: »

when u consider aeos 1 pays e869/ha for bird cover !

Great money if you can get it

Wooly Admirer · 09-04-2014 10:19AM

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

They may be looking at their system, but to say they're the top third depends on their starting point. For example, completing a profit monitor is one of the measures of STAP, one I chose this year in addition to another two, just for the craic tbh.

The profit monitor figures I'm quoting are pre-STAP. Your right these figures will be swayed alot by STAP farmers getting involved. But pre-STAP it was the farmers really pushing things that bothered to go to the effort to complete this assessment of their business.

Username John · 09-04-2014 12:44PM

Jesus lads...

The last few comments on the last few threads have me half depressed...

- The best of farmers are only making €20 per ewe profit *
- Spring lamb price is rubbish
- The comment on the lambing thread of 'you have to get a lot right, and very little wrong to get a bad lambing %' is kinda ringing in me ears...

* Based on Profit Monitor, how much store you put in that is up to you, but I would say it would be done by very good lads, so is reliable enough.

Whilst the grá is still there for lambing, its weaning...

(Not exactly what you want to read maybe on a thread about making a living from sheep, but that's the way I see it right now)

Conmaicne Mara · 09-04-2014 03:18PM

I won't press the point farther than this. But I know of people making the skin of a ticks teeth difference in double of that €20 per ewe Teagasc profit monitor. People who know what they're making.

Green farmer · 10-04-2014 11:19AM

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

I won't press the point farther than this. But I know of people making the skin of a ticks teeth difference in double of that €20 per ewe Teagasc profit monitor. People who know what they're making.

There is money in sheep. You need land free of rent and mortgage,you need to have all your farm machinery paid for, you need numbers, economy of scale and a slick fine tuned operation. unfortunately how many have all those ingredients in place ???

Also it's all the little costs that add up, running to coop every day for disposables that add up over a year.

tomwaterford · 10-04-2014 01:00PM

Green farmer wrote: »

There is money in sheep. You need land free of rent and mortgage,you need to have all your farm machinery paid for, you need numbers, economy of scale and a slick fine tuned operation. unfortunately how many have all those ingredients in place ???

Also it's all the little costs that add up, running to coop every day for disposables that add up over a year.

this is a killer like doing lambs for orf (was quoted e1.50 a lamb...over 100 lambs is e150...I can buy orf spray to treat all for e6)...even I would question a lot of the vaccines esp for ''closed'' lowland flocks that wouldn't be buying in sheep/be being put out to the hill mixing with other sheep

Conmaicne Mara · 10-04-2014 03:11PM

Green farmer wrote: »

There is money in sheep. You need land free of rent and mortgage,you need to have all your farm machinery paid for, you need numbers, economy of scale and a slick fine tuned operation. unfortunately how many have all those ingredients in place ???

Also it's all the little costs that add up, running to coop every day for disposables that add up over a year.

Rather than wondering how many don't have them, I wonder why they don't have them? Not that I am one to talk.

A quad is about the only piece of machinery I reckon a hill farm needs anyway. Too much money can be wasted in investing in wants, rather than needs. But that's operation specific.

Spend money on what will make you money.

razor8 · 10-04-2014 03:14PM

tomwaterford wrote: »

this is a killer like doing lambs for orf (was quoted e1.50 a lamb...over 100 lambs is e150...I can buy orf spray to treat all for e6)...even I would question a lot of the vaccines esp for ''closed'' lowland flocks that wouldn't be buying in sheep/be being put out to the hill mixing with other sheep

A bottle of scabivax costs around €40 and should do anything from 80 to 100 lambs despite what label says. The €1.60 a lamb you were quoted is way off the mark

tomwaterford · 10-04-2014 06:34PM

razor8 wrote: »

A bottle of scabivax costs around €40 and should do anything from 80 to 100 lambs despite what label says. The €1.60 a lamb you were quoted is way off the mark

sheep are relatively rare down here...with few notable exceptions!!!

that is not too bad...though still roughly cost e80 vs e6 for bottle of spray with a few mins work??

razor8 · 10-04-2014 07:39PM

tomwaterford wrote: »

sheep are relatively rare down here...with few notable exceptions!!!

that is not too bad...though still roughly cost e80 vs e6 for bottle of spray with a few mins work??

I would see it as €6 wasted to be honest tom. If orf gets a hold of your lambs no spray or tablets will have any effect IMO, some flocks get a mild attack like a few scabs around mouth etc that do no harm and if lambs thriving well they can fight off the attack. But if weather bad and it's gets a hold and goes from mouth to feet it's some mess

Green farmer · 10-04-2014 08:13PM

Is orf something that's in the ground or something that's imported from buying in sheep ?

Username John · 10-04-2014 09:07PM

Green farmer wrote: »

Is orf something that's in the ground or something that's imported from buying in sheep ?

Both in my view.

paddysdream · 10-04-2014 09:13PM

Green farmer wrote: »

There is money in sheep. You need land free of rent and mortgage,you need to have all your farm machinery paid for, you need numbers, economy of scale and a slick fine tuned operation. unfortunately how many have all those ingredients in place ???

Also it's all the little costs that add up, running to coop every day for disposables that add up over a year.

Have all the above so where am I going wrong?

Ok, will admit that there is a few bob in the woolie's ,more than cattle anyways.

If I had the choice(family,mortgage etc say otherwise) it would be,in order of preference,Machinery work,tillage,cattle,sheep,holsteins,pigs but needs must etc

Hire work- no money/sick hours/lots of pressure
Tillage-land is suitable but not enough to make it work
Cattle-high investment/small return
Sheep-hateful bast...s but a few bob with no major investment/workload
Milk- starting from scratch costs too much/post 2015 crash
Pigs-ag. college cured me of any interest in those money losing smelly porcines

On a more serious note cannot understand why more people don't consider sheep when starting out;
Low investment
Breed your own replacements
low inputs
major workload only once a year
shearing/drafting/dosing etc all at weekends
mimimal housing required
very little machinery needed
cheap way to get the "feel" for working with stock ie disaster pulling a lamb or tubing one is quiet a bit less costly than losing a BB calf or cow
Will work on most types of land

Have I anyone convinced yet?
Flock for sale Texel x and Borris ewes.Ready to go.Rams included (Texel, Char. and Suffolk)plus lots of hoggets for next year.
No warranty,trade sale,Cash only, No tyre kickers or wool pullers need apply.Phone me now for this amazing offer which will not be repeated.Only while stocks last.

Cran · 10-04-2014 09:32PM

Green farmer wrote: »

Is orf something that's in the ground or something that's imported from buying in sheep ?

Everything I think, got it in Feb in January born lambs that were in an out house that hadn't been used in 20 years....ewes were all here few years with no real orf issues, cleared up quick though

tomwaterford · 10-04-2014 09:36PM

razor8 wrote: »

I would see it as €6 wasted to be honest tom. If orf gets a hold of your lambs no spray or tablets will have any effect IMO, some flocks get a mild attack like a few scabs around mouth etc that do no harm and if lambs thriving well they can fight off the attack. But if weather bad and it's gets a hold and goes from mouth to feet it's some mess

I try not too leave it get that bad:o
I do be footbathing nearly weekly lame or not...as I do be running sheep in and doing jobs to be done with them every sat as I try keep work to a min evenings of the week:)

it is a great spray....orficide is name I think....1 spray and usually clears them...its a very strong spray...I must check what is in it

I got bit on my hand last year was brown for week after:( cant be good for you....its some strong stuff...puts hair back/burns hair on face and usually clears any that gets on doug
have used it on neighbours lamb and it was bad enough and cleared it....*should point out im not involved with his company

last year was first year I seen it anywhere

making a living out of sheep

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