With winter setting in early in the form of typical November weather with rain and strong winds, it’s time to close the hatches. The breeding season is in full swing and already after the first week many tired bucks were here, which I am happy about and which will hopefully be reflected in a compact lambing period at the end of March next year.
The remaining lambs are gradually reaching the finish line and Redstart and Tyfon fattened them up well at my place. I haven’t bought any food this year to finish stocking which is a substantial saving – buying food for her is a cod.
You lose the small profit you can make from raising sheep by buying too much feed. I just want to buy nuts for sheep at lambing time and that’s it. I also believe that with better breeding, health management and growing forage crops for the herd, I can further reduce my feed bill. I’m practically organic! It’s something I should investigate further.
I raise lambs from 48kg to maximize the amount of meat I can be paid for. It’s a high live weight compared to other vintages and even then it’s hard to get her to 22kg. I’m not far off but I think you’re safer pulling live at 50kg for maximum returns for your hard work. The percent kill is better on meal fed lambs, but I’m getting that on lambs that come from redstarts now.
I also take the time to wash down and service all farm machinery, on the mower I change the oil in bed and check all the lights and blades and park it tightly in a nice dry corner. The same applies to slurry tankers, fertilizer spreaders and field sprayers.
It’s nice to know they’re safely stowed away and that they’ll be ready and ready to go when you take them out next year. It’s a quiet time of year, so getting these jobs done is easy enough.
I now skip the rams with my Mule X Belclare lambs. As with the main flock, I’ve used the ram effect and hope to compact the lambs. I use EasyCare and Charollais bucks with them and am really impressed with the EasyCare breed. They weigh like lead when it comes to raising them and the breed is low maintenance. They do what they say on the tin.
They’re not for everyone, but I can tell you they’re not hard on costs.
Aries thrive on being left alone and with the price of wool as it is they are a breed for the future.
Some people don’t like raising lambs, but I only select the strongest and make sure to feed them well. I have found that they make better mothers overall and the lambs, like everything else, foot the bills.
For me, November also means tying up a lot of agricultural paperwork. Paid taxes, paid contractor bills, and settled fertilizer bills. It’s always good to catch up on the BPS at this point as it will help you clear the decks as such and prepare for another run in the next farming year.
However, my focus this year is that my BPS will be drastically reduced in 2023 and the funds needed to pay those bills will be significantly less. The money has to come from somewhere, and right now I see the only way to get there is to cut spending on inputs and reduce inventories. I have no choice. I will be entering the new ACRES program and intend to select the most cost effective options from the new program. The reality is that the money I get from ACRES will help pay my 2022 tax bill.
There is no inspirational, groundbreaking stuff here, and the fact remains clear to me that the funds allocated to incentivize farmers to take new measures to protect the environment are drastically short-sighted. Eventually, and very importantly, I closed 80 percent of the farm in anticipation of getting the stock onto the lawn early next spring. It is important for ranchers to shut down operations as soon as possible, otherwise you are exposing yourself to an expensive source of forage. Grass is our best friend – reducing input costs is our only way of keeping the show going.
John Fagan farms in Gartlandstown, Crookedwood, Co. Westmeath
