Farmers have been urged to be careful when drafting lambs, as kill out percentages have fallen in recent weeks.
Despite prices falling back for lambs in recent weeks, it’s important to ensure lambs are fit for slaughter and that they will kill out at the desired weight range of 18-21kg in order to maximise returns – especially as prices continue to fall.
Procurement managers have commented that some lambs are killing out at 40% and, in many cases, this is resulting in a lamb carcass weighing less than the desired weight range.
Procurement managers have said that lambs lacking flesh are a result of less meal being fed to lambs this year in light of the rising cost of it.
In instances where lambs have not been supplemented with concentrates, lamb buyers have asked sheep farmers to be vigilant and to select lambs that are heavy enough to produce a 18-21kg carcass.
To counteract the problem of light lambs, some processors have introduced a lower price for lambs producing carcasses of less than 16kg.
Regular weighing and handling of lambs is the only way to find out how your lambs are performing and whether or not they are fit to kill. If meal isn’t being fed, getting lambs into bigger weights (up on 50kg liveweight) might be the safest option if the factory is where you plan to send lambs, if not the mart is the other alternative option.