Spring lamb prices

Username John

ganmo wrote: »

I've been saying that about early lamb for the last few years.

The store lamb market has been inflated for the last few years by expensive store cattle

Will early lamb continue to be a thing I wonder?

From what I can see - everything now seems to be just 'lamb'? There doesn't seem to be mutton anymore (at the consumer end) was there ever hogget meat?

So from the customer buying 'sheep meat' viewpoint - if there isn't a clean distinction between sheep meat types or ages - is it difficult to expect them to pay over the odds for spring lamb, when they are buying lamb all the rest of the year anyways?

Willfarman

Green farmer wrote: »

I haven't been to a mart in about two years, but last few times I was there, the store lamb trade was overpriced. the cattle boys had arrived and were driving prices up to €20 a head more then what they always had been. also witnessed them squeezing a lot of small boys out of the market.

2 euro would be considered a major rise in a sheep Mart tho? 20 euro and there'd have to be the breeding hogget boys which often goes s bit nuts.

Willfarman

Username John wrote: »

Will early lamb continue to be a thing I wonder?

From what I can see - everything now seems to be just 'lamb'? There doesn't seem to be mutton anymore (at the consumer end) was there ever hogget meat?

So from the customer buying 'sheep meat' viewpoint - if there isn't a clean distinction between sheep meat types or ages - is it difficult to expect them to pay over the odds for spring lamb, when they are buying lamb all the rest of the year anyways?

Late born lambs slow grown and finished in Spring is a superior product to the forced opaque pale fatty tasteless forced early lamb. But where I wonder about differentiation is I have never seen mutton for sale?

Username John

Willfarman wrote: »

Late born lambs slow grown and finished in Spring is a superior product to the forced opaque pale fatty tasteless forced early lamb. But where I wonder about differentiation is I have never seen mutton for sale?

I can't comment on taste too much - I dislike the taste of lamb for the most part. Very slow cooked shank is all right, but I detest lamb chops...

rangler1

Username John wrote: »

I can't comment on taste too much - I dislike the taste of lamb for the most part. Very slow cooked shank is all right, but I detest lamb chops...

I'm meeting a lot of people that don't like lamb,particularily chops......a bit concerning.

Username John

rangler1 wrote: »

I'm meeting a lot of people that don't like lamb,particularily chops......a bit concerning.

I don't like em because it was the default meat at home growing up... all of my family would be the same, in that none of us eat lamb now...

Lambs also seemed to be almost entirely made of rack chops, as we seemed to have them all too often - but I know that's just my mind playing tricks on me

But on a more serious note - I would agree, lamb somehow has gotten a bad press / image.. I think people don't tend to buy it like they would beef or pork... I don't know why...

Willfarman

rangler1 wrote: »

I'm meeting a lot of people that don't like lamb,particularily chops......a bit concerning.

That is concerning. I'm assuming you haven't taken up a Pilates class frequented by a load of vegans or similar!

It would t be on the average shopping list.. My sister I law was telling me its expensive. The same lady smokes 40 a day and would easy put away the price of a lamb on vodka and 7 up on a frequent night out.. Drives me nuts. A clothing label is worth it but qaulity food is expensive!

Sheep breeder

Willfarman wrote: »

Lambs like that are firmly in the minority. In Icm flat pricing comes from the chuckle brothers d and d having a fair idea what the producer is going to unload. The demise of the 1500 small butchers was a disaster. Next time your in Icm stop in camolin and have a look in Christy Byrnes at the beef and lamb.. No comparison to any supermarket for consistent qaulity and value.

You won't get too much value for money in christy Byrnes shop,
A lot of the problem is the consumption of lamb at present,and the other two factors is the great backend of growth and stores done well and are ahead of normal in numbers to over supply and the large hogget feeders had talked the price up and everybody believed this would happen and there would be a big killing in price to be made,
A neighbour has 1500 hoggets feeding on turnips and only returned to feeding two years ago and is loosing his shirt on the price he was giving for forward stores and is being cut for over weight and can't get his head around being so far over weight.
Another guy who feeds 3000 left the mart when this other guy started to buy and went to Kerry to buy and weights his lambs through a pratley scales every week and kills every week at a weight and says he is just getting by and knew it was going to be a hard year due to brexit etc

Willfarman

Sheep breeder wrote: »

You won't get too much value for money in christy Byrnes shop,
A lot of the problem is the consumption of lamb at present,and the other two factors is the great backend of growth and stores done well and are ahead of normal in numbers to over supply and the large hogget feeders had talked the price up and everybody believed this would happen and there would be a big killing in price to be made,
A neighbour has 1500 hoggets feeding on turnips and only returned to feeding two years ago and is loosing his shirt on the price he was giving for forward stores and is being cut for over weight and can't get his head around being so far over weight.
Another guy who feeds 3000 left the mart when this other guy started to buy and went to Kerry to buy and weights his lambs through a pratley scales every week and kills every week at a weight and says he is just getting by and knew it was going to be a hard year due to brexit etc

Where would you recommend for consistent qaulity and value meat? And again can you give a few examples of these big store prices? Are there store producers after having a bumper 2016?

charolais0153

Tbh I couldn't differentiate between lamb and beef only for there's about a tenth of the meat in a lamb compared to the beef. We'd barely ever have it maybe once a month , if there was more meat I'd like it a lit more but its a oaun when half of what you cook is nearly fat

rangler1

Willfarman wrote: »

That is concerning. I'm assuming you haven't taken up a Pilates class frequented by a load of vegans or similar!

It would t be on the average shopping list.. My sister I law was telling me its expensive. The same lady smokes 40 a day and would easy put away the price of a lamb on vodka and 7 up on a frequent night out.. Drives me nuts. A clothing label is worth it but qaulity food is expensive!

One amusing reason, was during the week a neighbour that walks his dog past our place every morning asked me when we'd have lambs out playing in the fields......he said he couldn't eat them since he came to live here after seeing them out playing in the fields.
Another neighbour who I thought would eat anything said he couldn't eat lamb ...too fat.
My OH, who's more into this grading than I am, always says she wouldn't buy an R4 chop, so I suppose you can't expect anyone else to buy it either.

Willfarman

charolais0153 wrote: »

Tbh I couldn't differentiate between lamb and beef only for there's about a tenth of the meat in a lamb compared to the beef. We'd barely ever have it maybe once a month , if there was more meat I'd like it a lit more but its a oaun when half of what you cook is nearly fat

Which weighs heavier a tonne of coal or a tonne of feathers? But I know what your saying. This is why the butchers favour what the processers say is out of spec. Big well bred lowland type ewe or weather lambs, 53 kg plus. the butcher I'm talking about sells lamb that bears no relation to what's available in the 3 supermarkets in nearby gorey town.

ganmo

rangler1 wrote: »

One amusing reason, was during the week a neighbour that walks his dog past our place every morning asked me when we'd have lambs out playing in the fields......he said he couldn't eat them since he came to live here after seeing them out playing in the fields.
Another neighbour who I thought would eat anything said he couldn't eat lamb ...too fat.
My OH, who's more into this grading than I am, always says she wouldn't buy an R4 chop, so I suppose you can't expect anyone else to buy it either.

Ya I've been told that one neighbour won't eat lamb after seeing lambs with dirty behinds. And then bird bia told me that consumers don't care that lamb starts as a playful lamb they even rang here looking for a pet lamb for bloom one year!

We've 3 lambs in the freezer at the moment and maybe 1 or 2 more to go into it

Username John

ganmo wrote: »

We've 3 lambs in the freezer at the moment and maybe 1 or 2 more to go into it

Jaysus, how many of ye are there, to have 5 lambs in the freezer?

That's about what, 120kg of lamb?... fair few dinners in there...

kk.man

I love meat but hate lamb...always have..I don't know...I'm not prudish but I hate the taste...not great for the business I know!

Farrell

As mentioned in another post, everything is lamb now.
When we kill a lamb for the house, the MIL is on hand for some chops.
Every time she gives the same comment, "they were delicious, lovely taste & no smell, not like the ones you get in the shop & when you getting the next one killed"
In my opinion the mutton dressed as lamb is turning people off lamb

rangler1

Farrell wrote: »

As mentioned in another post, everything is lamb now.
When we kill a lamb for the house, the MIL is on hand for some chops.
Every time she gives the same comment, "they were delicious, lovely taste & no smell, not like the ones you get in the shop & when you getting the next one killed"
In my opinion the mutton dressed as lamb is turning people off lamb

Yea, she probably talking about a badly managed ram lamb when she talks about 'smell'.
I donated a lamb to a charity event and a hotel manager from the west won it,
He came to me during the week telling me the lamb was 'divine' and could we supply a few, however I have no interest, but it does emphasise we need the factories to pay for quality because we're losing customers left, right and centre

ganmo

Username John wrote: »

Jaysus, how many of ye are there, to have 5 lambs in the freezer?

That's about what, 120kg of lamb?... fair few dinners in there...

i never go to a bbq empty handed

Username John

ganmo wrote: »

i never go to a bbq empty handed

You must go to the world o BBQs as well

Username John

Farrell wrote: »

In my opinion the mutton dressed as lamb is turning people off lamb

As I don't eat lamb, I can't comment too much - but some people maintain a hogget tastes much nicer... that it has a nice taste, but is still tender to eat...

I dunno - I suppose everyone has their own tastes

AntrimGlens

Farrell wrote: »

As mentioned in another post, everything is lamb now.

In my opinion the mutton dressed as lamb is turning people off lamb

I was in London for a couple of days last week and had booked to go to a couple of very posh restaurants in Mayfair, with one specifically chosen as the chef and owner are from Cavan. It makes great claims about sourcing his meat from the estate in Cavan and blah blah blah. So one of the clients was american and knowing i was a sheep farmer asked should he order the rump of lamb, I said i'd ask the waitress if it was lamb or hogget. She stared at me rather blankly and i had to ask again if it was late season lamb or was it nearly a year old hogget. She said she'd ask the chef in the kitchen after coming up with an answer that contained the sentence "all our lamb is fresh nothing is frozen". I thought that for £48 for a small rump of lamb arse that you'd wanting to be getting pedigree papers with it!!

In fairness that was nothing compared to the £98 they were charging in Harrods for every 100g of Wyagu steak cut to your liking to be cooked in front of you. I didn't even stop to think what a 12oz sirloin was likely to cost me.

Green farmer

A yes harrods, a eatery I've frequented in the past. Nice place to watch the world go by. Mind you whenever I was there, I treated myself to a cup of tea. £3 and a place to rest your legs for 1/2 hour. Good value at that .

MD1983

i hear 4.90 is the run of it now

sea12

MD1983 wrote: »

i hear 4.90 is the run of it now

At last s bit of movement. Hopefully they are getting scarce and it will move up a bit more

rangler1

sea12 wrote: »

At last s bit of movement. Hopefully they are getting scarce and it will move up a bit more

40000 more sheep killed this year already, where are they all coming from, must be very prolific ewes in carlile or northern ireland

Willfarman

http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/poor-prices-dampen-euphoria-around-e25m-sheep-welfare-scheme/

Rather than production schemes what is needed is competition.
Namely.
More live export during demand for key Muslim festivals.
Incentivise start up small/ medium abattoirs for our own domestic market and beyond.

Green farmer

rangler1 wrote: »

40000 more sheep killed this year already, where are they all coming from, must be very prolific ewes in carlile or northern ireland

and there they were blaming us for the high numbers, and low demand. If the demand was so low why where they importing them in ? Leaves a right bad taste in our mouth.

Willfarman

Green farmer wrote: »

and there they were blaming us for the high numbers, and low demand. If the demand was so low why where they importing them in ? Leaves a right bad taste in our mouth.

Some years ago I had the displeasure of being in the company of a buyer for a factory at a large house party. Full of smug Celtic tiger horsey types.. Egos, stripey shirts and pointy shoes ...

Got talking to this chap anyway ( He'd quite a bit of drink taken) and talking about sheep farmers that were supplying them. Every other lad was an arsehole., and he had nothing but contempt for us. This is the attitude.

The tangents between lamb price and children's shoes never cross their mind. We are "arseholes".

Username John

Willfarman wrote: »

Some years ago I had the displeasure of being in the company of a buyer for a factory at a large house party. Full of smug Celtic tiger horsey types.. Egos, stripey shirts and pointy shoes ...

Got talking to this chap anyway ( He'd quite a bit of drink taken) and talking about sheep farmers that were supplying them. Every other lad was an arsehole., and he had nothing but contempt for us. This is the attitude.

The tangents between lamb price and children's shoes never cross their mind. We are "arseholes".

I hope you didn't waste the entire party talking to him?

Willfarman

Username John wrote: »

I hope you didn't waste the entire party talking to him?

Indeed I didn't!