Forage availability, animal health and concentrate input are all important factors store lamb producers and purchasers need to bear in mind.

Teagasc head of sheep knowledge transfer, Michael Gottstein has provided some tips on these issues for store lamb producers and purchasers.

According to the adviser, the exceptionally dry summer and the corresponding drought and poor grass growth has resulted in less demand for store lambs, especially the lighter Scottish Blackface type lambs.

He said: “Now that the rain has arrived, it will take a period of time for grass growth to build up on farms, and this hopefully will help farmers who are interested in purchasing store lambs.”

Diet

Looking at forage crops, Gottstein said they are now “powering on”.

He added: “However, despite an early harvest, the lack of moisture delayed crops going into the ground and germinating.

"As such the yield potential of such crops is much lower than last year.

In general, Gottstein recommends that lambs achieve a body weight of at least 38kg liveweight prior to being put onto intensive concentrate-based diets.

He added: “This means that the lambs have grown the ‘frame’ to put on weight and, at that stage, can be relatively easily finished on concentrate diets.

“Putting lighter lambs on intensive concentrate diets results in a lot of concentrate feed going in and the economics of this enterprise can be questionable.”

Costs

Concentrate inputs are the largest single variable cost going into store lamb enterprises, according to Gottstein.

So how can these costs be reduced to improve margins?

“Often the debate here centres around the cost of the concentrate feed and how it is purchased (e.g. straights vs. nuts, bags vs. bulk etc.).

“However, the cost of the feed is only one part of the jigsaw that determines the animal performance," he said.

Gottstein said it is important to consider other factors which affect animal performance, such as:

Animal health: Do issues such as lameness and parasites need to be addressed to maximise animal performance?
Access to feed and forage: Is there sufficient trough space to prevent bullying; are sharp areas of feeders etc. covered to prevent injury?
Access to clean water: Lambs on high levels of concentrates will drink lots of water, up to 8L per head per day. Dirty water or lack of water will reduce intake and performance;
Mineral supplementation: Is the ration balanced for minerals and trace elements and, in the case of ram lambs, is there ammonium chloride included (salt for organic lambs as ammonium chloride is not permitted in organic diets)?
Prevention of metabolic disease: Is the ration properly formulated to minimise digestive upsets and is it introduced gradually and built up slowly over time to allow the lambs digestive systems to become accustomed to the new diet?

Also, if switching diets, Gottstein recommends mixing the old batch of concentrates with the new so that any change in ingredients does not cause digestive upsets.

Budgeting

Regardless of whether buying stores or considering when to sell store lambs, Gottstein said that a budget should be carried out to see if the enterprise is likely to leave a margin or when is the best time to sell.

He added: “Don’t forget to factor in the opportunity cost of grass / forage crops for other enterprises on the farm.

“If keeping store lambs out for the winter results in ewes and lambs having to be supplemented with meal post-lambing or suckler cows having to be housed for an additional month, then these costs need to be accounted for.”

Teagasc has developed a simple store lamb calculator that can be used to help in working out the costs and margins associated with store lamb production.

The Teagasc Store Lamb Finishing Calculator is available free of charge on the Teagasc website.