New Entrants to Farming: Marketing Beef & Lamb (Stranraer) – Event Summary

Know the current market demands & keep an eye on costs of production

Around 12 attendees came to Drumbreddan Farm on 30^th October 2017 to hear talks from John Kerr, Procurement Officer with AK Stoddart and Bill Hurcomb, who draws prime lambs for Wallets Marts mainly for Woodhead Bros.  Other speakers includes Alison Clark, SAC Consulting.

Drumbreddan sells both prime lambs cattle direct to Woodhead Bros for Morrisons.  There were a selection of finishing heifers on show at the meeting at different stages of production and John Kerr gave an excellent overview of the prime cattle market.  Attendees discussed market specification, the EUROP grading system and maximising pence per kg.

Alison Clark, SAC Consulting reminded the group of the costs associated with selling stock including haulage, commission and levies and also emphasised the importance of ensuring that all the necessary paperwork was filled in including movement records and Food Chain Declaration forms

During the afternoon session, attention was focused towards sheep and Bill Hurcomb, who has drawn lambs for Wallets Marts for 25 years, explained what he looks for in the perfect prime lamb.  Prior to the meeting he had drawn the lambs at Drumbreddan that were due to sell that week and the group had the opportunity to learn how to grade lambs and feel the difference between lambs which were ready and those that needed more time.

Finally, John Clark gave a demonstration on how to clip prime lambs. This is an important element in ensuring good hygiene in abattoirs and new entrants have the opportunity to save a little on sale costs if they can do this job themselves.

Key messages

• Build up a good relationship with your buyer, whether that be the dealers at the market or your local abattoir.
• Understanding what the EUROP scale looks like on an animal will help you sell an animal that the market wants
• Presentation is key – cattle must be presented clean and from October onwards lambs must be belly clipped.
• Know your costs – the price you get when the hammer falls or the carcase is graded is not the same as the cheque you’ll receive.
• You can’t grade lambs by eye, the wool hides the carcase, you must handle them to decide if their ready.

Use the download links below to read the information available to take away from this event.