John Fagan: I’m cutting the numbers instead of working 24/7 all next spring
On November 15th, I got my sheep welfare payment and GLAS payment in one go. I was finally able to pay some bills, even spend some on the wife.#
Finally, the next day, the tax office stormed into my bank account and cleared everything. What God gives, God takes.
Before I could conjure even a modicum of joy out of my payments for my challenging work over the last year, it was gone. In Father Ted style, the money just sat in my account for a purpose other than what I was supposed to spend.
The announcement that we will be getting a €2 increase on our sheep payment next year is a disappointment. IFA and ICSA are rightly demanding a 30 euro payment for farmers; While critics might see it as a handout, anyone who understands rural economics will see it as an investment.
It’s been a really challenging year for most with a huge increase in production costs. Every sheep farmer I speak to reduces their numbers; they’re fed up, they can’t get help, they can’t take another year at a ridiculous cost, and they’re reducing to almost organic levels.
This will be bad for fuel, feed and fertilizer dealers, animal health companies, equipment dealers, insurance companies and all the other businesses that make money from farming.
The cost is too high for what we get back. I need to adjust things and scale back the numbers before I throw myself into another spring and work 24/7 for the hell of it.
It’s good to see the lamb price picking up again but it’s still a long way behind when it was last year when the base was €6.85/kg and farmers were liberally receiving well over €7/kg.
Retailers are expecting high Christmas spending despite the cost of living crisis, so I don’t think the demand for factories has gone away. People still have to eat, and lamb is the specialty in France and Germany at Christmas, so the factories need us and our lambs.
Lambs and cull ewes continue to thrive on redstarts. That means I don’t have to buy food to finish them.
Recently the lambs have been killing at 21-22kg and cost around €140 on average. I have the last few lambs for 2022 and anticipate there will be little left until the new year.
The culled ewes are absolutely flying and I plan on moving them in the new year too.
I took away the rams and booked the scanner for mid-January. I will sort out my empty ewes immediately and put the ewes into their groups based on what they are carrying.
My lambing doesn’t start until mid-March, so I’m not under massive early weed pressure. I have closed 80 percent of the farm and will gradually start housing soon.
The housing will not be too crowded as I have a lot of sheep on redstarts outside which makes it easier for me and the sheep.
Once I move in I will be measuring the grass across the yard to get an idea of what I have and what I will need. I have first cut silage of the highest quality, both in the pit and in bales, and I am planning to have this analysed to find out its feed quality. The better the quality, the less flour I have to use.
In the past year, feeding molasses to pregnant ewes has worked well. It keeps them full of energy and is a great addition to kibble such as hay and haylage.
It has greatly reduced my prolapse and twin lamb disease and reduced my need for feed and it’s something I’ll be sharing with you after the scan.
Don’t forget to fill out your sheep census, it is based on the amount of stock you have on December 31st. You have to fill them out, otherwise you can get into hot water with the department.
John Fagan farms in Gartlandstown, Crookedwood, Co. Westmeath
https://www.independent.ie/business/farming/sheep/advice/john-fagan-im-cutting-numbers-instead-of-working-round-the-clock-for-feck-all-next-spring-42187384.html John Fagan: I’m cutting the numbers instead of working 24/7 all next spring
