A number of factories have noted a tightening of supplies over the past few weeks, as base quotes increased again this week.
Since the turn of the year, prices for hoggets have steadily increased from just under 500c/kg up to 570c/kg including quality assurance (QA) bonuses.
This time last year, figures from Bord Bia show that Irish farmers were receiving 520c/kg for their hoggets.
There is no doubt it has been a good start to 2020 for sheep farmers, but how long will it last for is the big question.
Over the past few weeks, despite supplies getting tighter, factories have noticed an increase in the slaughter weights of hoggets coming through the system.
A number of factors have led to this, which include, bad weather leading to dirty sheep, overweight hoggets and, at this stage, factories are trying to keep a lid on prices.
Despite supplies tightening, factories are still trying to pick and choose what sheep they buy in.
One factory, in particular, said: “The bad weather recently is compounding the supply of hoggets. Over the past few weeks, there have been fewer cull ewes coming through the system.
The sale of lamb cuts is under constant pressure due to the rise in prices since Christmas. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of heavy hoggets coming through the system.
“The result of these heavier carcasses is extra cuts of meat which are not increasing in price as quick as the live hoggets are.”
Factories have warned against sending sheep to the factory that:
- Are dirty and don’t adhere to the Clean Livestock Policy (CLP);
- Have no electronic identification (EID) tag;
- Are in the final stages of pregnancy or have only lambed down.
In general, factories are paying up to a carcass weight of between 22.5kg and 23kg for hoggets. Furthermore, there is even greater variation in terms of the weights of cast ewes and rams, with some processors paying up to a carcass weight of between 40kg and 46kg.
It is important farmers talk to their processors regularly and weigh their hoggets as often as possible.
Sending hoggets to the factory that are killing out at between 25kg and 27kg is of no benefit to the farmer. Not only will you not get paid for the extra meat but you are only increasing the production costs on your farm; therefore, reducing the profitability of the enterprise.
Drafting
In order to make the most of the hoggets you are feeding for the factory, it is important to weight them or at the very least handle them and see what condition they are in.
Ideally, you should be drafting R and U-grade hoggets/lambs that weigh between 44kg and 55kg, with good flesh cover.
Listed (below) are some notes farmers should keep in mind when drafting lambs.
- Meal-fed lambs will a kill out (KO) at between 1% and 2% higher than grass-fed-only lambs;
- Single lambs will reach slaughter weight faster than twin-born lambs;
- Heavy lambs have a higher KO than lean lambs;
- Lambs with long and loose fleece will have a lower KO.
In the case of ewe hoggets, instead of sending them to the factory – especially if they are overweight – an alternative option would be to sell them at the mart where there is a good demand of late, with some farmers possibly on the lookout for hoggets for breeding.