Market report

[brierpatch1974]

I just got a copy of last weeks market report. Cattle holding around the same for this market which isnt the highest selling market in my area but steady. But I about died when I saw what the price of lambs are.

"" Lambs 85-100 pounds 62 head $170-$176. 75 pounds 16 head $186.50. 50-65 pounds 48 head $174-$190. 40pounds 15 head $149-$233. Ewe Lambs 21 head 70-82 pounds $229-$230 ""

Maybe I should talk to the guys at the AG office and look into putting some fo them on the in laws land. While I have no experience with them ( other than eating chops ) my uncle keeps a small flock of around 50 to 75. Something else to look into just got to make sure I dont over load myself.

I have heard some people complain about their AG offices but so far I have had good luck and great support with mine. I have also been talking the the AG department at the university and getting good advice from those guys and gals as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Better have a good tight field fence. They're about as bad as goats as Far as escaping

 

[Dave]

As much as I hate to say it, there is money in sheep right now. On the other hand I use to have a tee shirt that said, "Eat lamb, 10 million coyotes can't be wrong". Predator problems are real if you are in the sheep business.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

im seeing more and more herds of them, pop up around here....but then i seen herds of emu's in the 90's... but when you see a over abundance... you'll see those prices drop,, and the demand...

 

[ga.prime]

All the lamb I see in the stores here comes from New Zealand. Maybe somebody knows what that means. I don't.

 

[Howdyjabo]

If you are used to cattle - sheep will give you a crash course in humility

 

[dun]

If you are used to cattle - sheep will give you a crash course in humility

And nausea from the stink

 

[Anonymous]

I've go a friend that raises meat goats like we do beef. Every Muslim holiday he sells every last one he has except the breeders. And he gets 150/hd picked up alive. If killed, gutted, skinned he gets another 50. And he'll do it kosher if they wish too.

 

[Lane]

I kind of backed into the sheep business. I used to buy sell barn sheep to train my young dogs and
they were pretty worthless. I figured if I was going to have a few sheep I might as well get some
that might be worth something, so I bought 25 young hair sheep ewes and a ram and built a night lot to keep other critters out. Long story, short- I now have about 60 ewes and am very pleased. I breed in October and all my ewes lamb in about the first two weeks of March. We typically have
about 150% lamb crop and I sell every lamb that I don't keep for replacements to the guy that order buys my stocker calves. He has a contact with an ethnic market in New Orleans and I get a good
price for 60-70# lambs in July. I don't purchase any feed for my ewes and I just turn them out in
the traps after I rotate my calves thru. The sheep eat mostly broadleaf weeds and whatever grass
is left. My fences are mostly 3 strands of hot wire with 1 barb wire between the bottom and second
hot. I seldom have any problems with sheep getting out other than some of the smaller lambs. At about 4-5 PM the sheep leave the traps and go up a lane and back into the night pen, usually on
their own. I have never seen anything like it. I don't know if I could market large numbers of lambs
but I have never had any livestock that required any less work.