Spring lamb prices

Green farmer

Anybody sell hoggets in mart lately and know what prices are like ?

orm0nd

was talking to a friend that sold 20 in Roscrea last Wed. 58 kgs €140

he said back approx 5 to 7 € from 2 weeks previous

Green farmer

I'd often go to roscrea myself. Now that lambing is nearly finished , better start cleaning out some hoggets knocking around the place.

Farrell

Green farmer wrote: »

Anybody sell hoggets in mart lately and know what prices are like ?

Sold a few 50-60Kg - €135-140
Fat ewes €127

Saw some spring lambs make from €120 (38kg) to €150 (43kg)

Green farmer

Sold a batch of 52kg ram hoggets in roscrea today. Struggled to make €120. The factories must be playing games again. Saw people bringing spring lamb home unsold. €125 for 44kg spring lamb was what they were making. Might see can I start selling directly to factory.

Username John

Green farmer wrote: »

Sold a batch of 52kg ram hoggets in roscrea today. Struggled to make €120. The factories must be playing games again. Saw people bringing spring lamb home unsold. €125 for 44kg spring lamb was what they were making. Might see can I start selling directly to factory.

Hi Green,
As spring lamb is out now - I would be afraid that hogget prices are only going to go down from now on?
I could be wrong, but I would expect the factories to start dropping the price for hoggets..

Green farmer

I don't know john , the hoggets should be safe for a month or so until that happens. Thing is they were skinning the price paid for spring lambs also. Was back about €25 a head from what Farrell above witnessed in recent marts. From lamb/ hogget numbers on offer today, sheep appear to be scarce out there.

orm0nd

spring lamb are thriving very well & I can see a big kill coming on stream

just what the factories want

keep lambs moved as they come fit

Username John

Green farmer wrote: »

I don't know john , the hoggets should be safe for a month or so until that happens. Thing is they were skinning the price paid for spring lambs also. Was back about €25 a head from what Farrell above witnessed in recent marts. From lamb/ hogget numbers on offer today, sheep appear to be scarce out there.

I dunno Green - another month would be pushing it...
Like, its the middle of April now. I think hogget prices will be well down by mid-May.

But - I could be very wrong, I have been before and will be again

Green farmer

Username John wrote: »

But - I could be very wrong, I have been before and will be again

I'm not much better. Flipping a coin, would probably be more accurate.

Willfarman

Ffers were really acting the cNt in Enniscorthy mart today. Your lot my lot. Fat ewes bringing 130 and savage qaulity thumpers of lambs 46kg only being bid upto 120. Would make your blood boil watching these dealer parasites trying to blackguard guys that endured the hardship that goes with lambing ewes in the short dark days of January and looked after them so well to have supply premium qaulity out of season product.

Green farmer

Glad to know I'm not the only one. I rang around and the prices achieved today appear to be back €20 to €25 a head from what was being achieved in marts two days ago, for both hoggets and lambs.
Could they be doing this to try and panic guys to flush out lambs ?

sea12

Think it's going to be like this for the year. There is allot of extra lambs in the system this year. Factories will use it to their advantage. Usual story. Supply and demand.

White Clover

Willfarman wrote: »

Ffers were really acting the cNt in Enniscorthy mart today. Your lot my lot. Fat ewes bringing 130 and savage qaulity thumpers of lambs 46kg only being bid upto 120. Would make your blood boil watching these dealer parasites trying to blackguard guys that endured the hardship that goes with lambing ewes in the short dark days of January and looked after them so well to have supply premium qaulity out of season

was the manager around will ?
note to say I never stood in that mart. Prob 150 miles away

Willfarman

White Clover wrote: »

Willfarman wrote: »

Ffers were really acting the cNt in Enniscorthy mart today. Your lot my lot. Fat ewes bringing 130 and savage qaulity thumpers of lambs 46kg only being bid upto 120. Would make your blood boil watching these dealer parasites trying to blackguard guys that endured the hardship that goes with lambing ewes in the short dark days of January and looked after them so well to have supply premium qaulity out of season

was the manager around will ?
note to say I never stood in that mart. Prob 150 miles away

He was about. And I think there's not a lot he can do. If these dealers go there's no buyers left and no mart at all. The problem is there is no factory beyond one 10 miles away for another 150 miles. And only a couple of butcher abbatoirs.

orm0nd

orm0nd wrote: »

spring lamb are thriving very well & I can see a big kill coming on stream

just what the factories want

keep lambs moved as they come fit

Green farmer wrote: »

Glad to know I'm not the only one. I rang around and the prices achieved today appear to be back €20 to €25 a head from what was being achieved in marts two days ago, for both hoggets and lambs.
Could they be doing this to try and panic guys to flush out lambs ?

No
unfortunately my prediction came true

was on the agent earlier and factories are booked out,

we hope to get them killed Monday but no quotes until late tp morrow

tabby aspreme

Looking at the report from Markethill Mart on Wednesday spring lambs were a strong trade in NI , but the factories will always try pull prices after Easter, talking to a vet recently and he said sheep numbers will be down this year due to numbers of ewes put through factories in the last year

Willfarman

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Looking at the report from Markethill Mart on Wednesday spring lambs were a strong trade in NI , but the factories will always try pull prices after Easter, talking to a vet recently and he said sheep numbers will be down this year due to numbers of ewes put through factories in the last year

Takes very little to tilt the balance in favour of the processers unfortunately. They closed the thousands of small butchers abbatoirs and there is no live export so the farmer is a lamb to the slaughter really.

orm0nd

Willfarman wrote: »

Takes very little to tilt the balance in favour of the processers unfortunately. They closed the thousands of small butchers abbatoirs and there is no live export so the farmer is a lamb to the slaughter really.

if we were left to deal with the factories alone we would manage them, however when they can source undervalue lambs in the marts.. like they did at some venues this week , that's what puts the ball back in their (the processors ) court

Green farmer

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Looking at the report from Markethill Mart on Wednesday spring lambs were a strong trade in NI , but the factories will always try pull prices after Easter, talking to a vet recently and he said sheep numbers will be down this year due to numbers of ewes put through factories in the last year

I think that's a very valid point. I just don't see big numbers of sheep in the mart. The mart I was at on Wednesday was finished at least 1 hour earlier then normal. It just looked half empty of sheep.it's not the first time I've noticed it either.

AntrimGlens

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Looking at the report from Markethill Mart on Wednesday spring lambs were a strong trade in NI , but the factories will always try pull prices after Easter, talking to a vet recently and he said sheep numbers will be down this year due to numbers of ewes put through factories in the last year

Jeepers Tabby, I wouldn't consider NI prices strong at all and they are back at least £25 head on last year. Also this week due to the labelling issues that were raised last year in both beef and lamb trade between NI/ROI, Southern processors are now very reluctant to take in NI lamb as they're having difficulties finding a market for it. This coupled with the strong £ leaves NI lamb in a very weak position for the early part of the year and will leave the number of lambs leaving NI for Southern factories at least half of what it has been previously. This obviously leaves you guys in a stronger position to play hardball with the factories/agents but whether they pay up is a different story. It leaves us looking for a new market now as over half of all our lamb here in NI was traditionally exported south for cutting and sending onto France.
I know I'm glad I quit the spring lamb production last year and this year everything will be taken through as stores, no meal feeding this year.

orm0nd

€6.20 to €6.30 paying to 20 kgs , spring lamb monday

Username John

http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/factories-knock-as-much-as-40ckg-off-lamb-prices/

Seems price fall has begun...

orm0nd

Username John wrote: »

http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/factories-knock-as-much-as-40ckg-off-lamb-prices/

Seems price fall has begun...

they're still ok as a lot less creep was needed this year , question now is will they continue to fall or bottom out

my agent reckons this glut might be over in a week or 2 ,

Green farmer

orm0nd wrote: »

they're still ok as a lot less creep was needed this year , question now is will they continue to fall or bottom out

my agent reckons this glut might be over in a week or 2 ,

Fingers crossed, I'm going to hold faith. the other thing Antrim mentioned recently is the labelling thing changed, not as many lambs coming down from up north.

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

Fingers crossed, I'm going to hold faith. the other thing Antrim mentioned recently is the labelling thing changed, not as many lambs coming down from up north.

It looks like we'll be electronically tagging lambs soon, I'm told England have started doing it and subsidising it, so we'll have to do the same......cost a euro a lamb more to tag them :mad:

orm0nd

rangler1 wrote: »

It looks like we'll be electronically tagging lambs soon, I'm told England have started doing it and subsidising it, so we'll have to do the same......cost a euro a lamb more to tag them :mad:

FFS,

I presume just 1 tag (EID) will do

rangler1

orm0nd wrote: »

FFS,

I presume just 1 tag (EID) will do

nothing would surprise me.......is English farmers Electronically tagging lambs????

Yea, just looked it up, They're using EID.....one tag.

Willfarman

Will it eliminate the need for reading tag numbers when you kill purchased store lambs?

rangler1

Willfarman wrote: »

Will it eliminate the need for reading tag numbers when you kill purchased store lambs?

At least you'll be able to read them with a reader.
There's something going on now, we had two govt departments yesterday phoned us to ask us how they would sell it to the farmers........both of them aware that we tag at birth and use the records extensively in our management.
If you could get the reader with a 40% grant through TAMS it wouldn't be that dear....don't know why farmers don't put EID in cattle....scraping tags in housed cattle to read them used to drive me mad

Willfarman

I don't understand the need for individual tag numbers in sheep. A single Fock number should suffice. Even let it be e.i.d.

rangler1

Willfarman wrote: »

I don't understand the need for individual tag numbers in sheep. A single Fock number should suffice. Even let it be e.i.d.

Apparently the English lambs having it is putting pressure on the Irish to provide it.....same as selling cars, once one had powersteering/airconditioning etc, every car had to provide it

Farrell

rangler1 wrote: »

At least you'll be able to read them with a reader.
There's something going on now, we had two govt departments yesterday phoned us to ask us how they would sell it to the farmers........both of them aware that we tag at birth and use the records extensively in our management.
If you could get the reader with a 40% grant through TAMS it wouldn't be that dear....don't know why farmers don't put EID in cattle....scraping tags in housed cattle to read them used to drive me mad

Actually using the electronic tags here, bit or a pain when tagging as have to remove insert from applicator. Long story short, vet tried to scan with hand held & it wouldn't work.

Cran

rangler1 wrote: »

Apparently the English lambs having it is putting pressure on the Irish to provide it.....same as selling cars, once one had powersteering/airconditioning etc, every car had to provide it

I would think the factories would be putting them under pressure as well, they have eid readers but 90% of lambs cant use them takes more man power to read manually.

Personally if they go down that route they should agree something like email can be used. Scan numbers onto phone then email each party a copy of movement document auto populated from scan, actually make the EID useful to the farmer.....

rangler1

Farrell wrote: »

Actually using the electronic tags here, bit or a pain when tagging as have to remove insert from applicator. Long story short, vet tried to scan with hand held & it wouldn't work.

reader works very well with the sheep, would love to have the lambs EID, but not at nearly a euro extra...hopefully like all technology it'll be getting cheaper

ganmo

rangler1 wrote: »

reader works very well with the sheep, would love to have the lambs EID, but not at nearly a euro extra...hopefully like all technology it'll be getting cheaper

If the factory returned the tags to be used the next year the cost of eid tags for lambs would plummet

AntrimGlens

I've been using eid in the lambs now for 3 years and last year was really only when I fully utilised it. It's useful info but only if you use it properly and fully. Helpful for fat/prime lamb factory sellers but limited benefit to store and mart sellers. Does help on ewe selection and ram breeding seeing what ewes are putting into lambs and also lamb dlwg if you weigh regularly. Two tags, only 1 is eid and cost £1 per set of tags. Have a psion reader which I got 40% grant on.

Willfarman

I see a big lamb finisher here localy that finishes 5000 lambs every fall having to read 5000 lambs for factory and then the traceability stops dead at the factory gates. The kill sheets only record the individual tag number and not the flock number, the numbered even then are not recorded accurately, Northern Irish and uk lambs are killed same day and are being marketed as irish traceable meat off the back of my compliance with a nonsensical beuracratic system.

Green farmer

orm0nd wrote: »

my agent reckons this glut might be over in a week or 2 ,

If you don't mind me asking ,do you fair out with using an agent ? I usually just sell through the marts, as I'm a long way from factory and just haven't built up a relationship with any agent yet.

orm0nd

Green farmer wrote: »

If you don't mind me asking ,do you fair out with using an agent ? I usually just sell through the marts, as I'm a long way from factory and just haven't built up a relationship with any agent yet.

I'll answer you this way, I haven't sold in a mart for years and don't intend to.
..the exception would be maybe some heavy cull ewes

Think you mentioned roscrea , in 1 of your posts, the chap with the beard that buys there, might be worth chatting to

also there's an ex customer of roscrea that now buys in portumna & possibly athenry , tall bald chap that wears a peak cap

Green farmer

Normally would an agent call for the sheep or would the farmer drop sheep to dealers yard, and does the factory or agent pay you ? Apologies about the questions but just wondering about the logistics and would payment be as guaranteed as the mart.

sako 85

Quotes for Camolin on Monday;

Spring Lambs €6.00 +€0.10 QA
Fat Ewes €3.00

Is anyone getting better?

sako 85

Quotes for Camolin on Monday;

Spring Lambs €6.00 +€0.10 QA
Fat Ewes €3.00

Is anyone getting better?

arctictree

Green farmer wrote: »

Normally would an agent call for the sheep or would the farmer drop sheep to dealers yard, and does the factory or agent pay you ? Apologies about the questions but just wondering about the logistics and would payment be as guaranteed as the mart.

Would be interested in this myself! Also, what minimum numbers do agents normally take? Might be selling in batches of 12 this year. Would that be too small?

orm0nd

Green farmer wrote: »

Normally would an agent call for the sheep or would the farmer drop sheep to dealers yard, and does the factory or agent pay you ? Apologies about the questions but just wondering about the logistics and would payment be as guaranteed as the mart.

arctictree wrote: »

Would be interested in this myself! Also, what minimum numbers do agents normally take? Might be selling in batches of 12 this year. Would that be too small?

'

depends on location

some guys drop the lambs off to the haulier late the night before or early morning , more arrange a couple meeting up at one farm or even at a point on route ,

myself & 2 other neighbours move on the same day one guy has small numbers and a tight yard so he drops them here ,

the factory pays us , in about 3 days, they deduct the haulage fee and pay the agent

I got caught for payment for 30 heavy lambs about 20 years ago , the banks pulled the plug on a private abattoir, wouldn't mind but I had the cheque over a week & if I had lodged when I got it, it was good

finished up getting about 30% of the value about 12 months later , only time I ever had problems

Green farmer

I usually have batches of 10 -15 lambs at a time, so not huge amounts. I'll enquire around and see which agents are ok to deal with in the area. Thanks ormond .

orm0nd

supplies are thinning out a bit, anyone with lambs not up to max weight, hold out

Willfarman

Supplies haven't been strong at all during the last 2 weeks. The processers pulled a master coup. Cutting quotes brought them more stock than any rise ever would.

sako 85

Willfarman wrote: »

Supplies haven't been strong at all during the last 2 weeks. The processers pulled a master coup. Cutting quotes brought them more stock than any rise ever would.

Was thinking the same

Green farmer

I know demand has been weak, but supplies have been equally as weak, coupled with this there has been a 50 % reduction of lambs from the north due to new labelling regulations. I haven't been to the mart in about 2 weeks due to the cuts, but when I was there, both lambs and hoggets were not abundant on the ground.