[Womble]

A discussion inspired by the thread on lamb prices.......

We all know that Operating Profit ( ) = Sales minus Operating Costs.

So, putting capital costs aside for a moment, what strategies have you used over the years that have successfully reduced your operating costs, and thus boosted your profits? Why did you do it, and what were the impacts (both positive and negative)?

I'm thinking of things like:

• Changed to a breed that needs less hard feed
• Moved tupping later so that there's better grass available when the lambs are born
• Started fertilising the grass so that it yields more
• Bought feed in bulk, or from a cheaper source
• Clubbed together with other smallholders to buy lotions and potions
• Helped a local farmer with his shearing, so got my own done for free
• Learned to do my own FECs so I can now keep a closer eye on them and hence use less wormer

etc etc..... I once again look forward to shamelessly hitching a ride from all your hard won experience!! 

[Backinwellies]

great thread Womble .... I look forward to replies.  Just one comment so from me .... later lambing may meet grass better but will lambs be ready soon enough?  (assuming non commercial breeds/ crosses here of course)

[Rosemary]

Mine only get hard feed in the six weeks to lambing although they do have a molassed bucket from mid October (as part of the lambing preparation) until the grass is in.

Scanning has helped a bit since I can feed singles less but I don't gat many singles so the saving is pretty minimal in truth.

I now calculate how much feed I need - it's about a tonne and if you buy a tonne from Harbro it's about £2 a bag cheaper than buying it a few bags at a time. Harbro also do a "buy ten licky buckets, get one free" so I bought ten last month. I can use them for the cattle as well though.

Do your own marketing and sell your own lamb direct.

[Womble]

Just one comment so from me .... later lambing may meet grass better but will lambs be ready soon enough?

Indeed - that's why I added "and what were the impacts, both positive and negative" - I'm learning that in smallholding context is everything, and there is no such thing as a free lunch! 

[fsmnutter]

Became a vet to get cheaper vet bills!
Seriously I wanted to become a vet and smallholder/farmer and started in both almost simultaneously.
But yes, we have Hebrideans that eat much less, we lamb later so pretty much no hard feed required - all meat sold as hogget so no worries about finishing late, helped a local farmer with shearing who taught us to shear so did them all ourselves with his machine this year. And definitely FEC to keep wormer use to a minimum. All our meat is marketed direct (very small scale at the mo, hopefully moving to larger farm soon to step up scale) at a premium price.

[Porterlauren]

I'd say the biggest ways to reduce inputs into sheep are -

Better sheep - Less problems and faffing needed, reduces labour input, reduces medical bills, reduces feed needed, improves lambing percentage / weaning percentage etc etc.

Better pasture management - A greater number of sheep can be carried on the same acreage, increasing profit per acre and profit per ewe, ewes and lambs require less (no) hard feed, lambs are finished are away quicker.

No (less) hard feed - If you get the above right, you may be able to totally eliminate hard feed, which would be a big saving.

Having said all of this, the most important thing is knowing your costs, because unless you know those inside out. . . .  you can't change anything meaningful!

[Azzdodd]

Do everyone favours were at all possible then when your In need off one you can cash in the favour learn who will return the favour an who will not also 

[Buffy the eggs layer]

A prolific breed (mainly twins) I had 200% lambing percentage this year.


A good doing breed that needs little feed and keeps condition well.


Early lambing with Milky mums = large / multiple lambs who finish on grass, no creep


Producing very good quality meat and charging accordingly -selling direct


Buying high quality hay in large round bales of field if poss (sometimes the previous years if its good enough)


Covered hay feeders - less waste and no rain damage. Also seems to ration consumption


Buying carrots or fodderbeet by the tonne

[Middleton Of Lonmay]

Hi there we use a good sheep mix from Grays Farm feeds.http://www.grayfeedservices.co.uk/sheep-feeds.php
i buy in bulk from them. i try make a pallet up with chicken feed sheep mix and pig feed. excellent feeds and much better prices than Harbro. 

[Old Shep]

Buffy - what breed of sheep do you have?

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Ryelands

[Backinwellies]

200% is a great lambing % from Ryelands .... are they all older?     

Another thought on this and sheep costs

........... breed from ewe lambs ..... feed for less time before production and thus income ... 
however lower lambing %

Also how many females do you change each year?   ( Culls --vs new ewes)  this can impact on costs but also on outcomes.

[Scotsdumpy]

Agree with middleton of lonmay with feed from grays. We used to spend far too much at a local feed supplier and was always put off with buying in bulk due to storage. However, grays can either deliver in bulk bags but we go for 20/25kg bags and store them just off the ground on a sort of table arrangement to deter mice. We have more than halved our feed costs. We buy calf mix, sheep mix, layers pellets and sugar beet pellets plus sheep and cattle licks.
in the past we have sold direct to the public - both live and dead but now we just raise lambs for selling at the mart. In the past we have had reasonable prices but this year might be a bit different.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

I would certainly buy like that if I could find a suitable local supplier down here. We do have a mill near by and they make their own feed which is cheaper than the country store but I would love to be able to get hold of Rosemary supplier at £2 a bag!


In terms of lessens learned Womble then mine would be,




Do a job right the first time and only have to do it once. Quick fixes and bodge jobs always come back to haunt you. I dont consider empty feed sacks and baler band as effective DIY materials ( Sorry all you John Seamour fans)


You get out what you put in. That goes for feed and fodder too so I never use poor quality feed or hay. It also goes for investing time and effort.


Understand the value of what you have and what you do. So many people seem to know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. The cheapest, quickest, easiest route isnt always the best one. .


And lastly but perhaps the hardest lesson I had to learn is that wearing oversized dungarees and placing my glasses on my head is never going to give me the sex appeal of Felicity kendal.


Re the Ryelands- yes I find them very good sheep for my set up on all sorts of levels though there are lots of other good breeds out there. Its about choosing a breed that suits your situation and again I feel that its about choosing good breeding stock. I find so many smallholders wanting to take a share of the market that the big commercial farmers occupy when even the farmers themselves are struggling despite their inherited infrastructure assets, subsidies and economies of scale.


I dont think it matters what breed you pick its about working to the strengths of that breed, understanding the market and establishing your offer. If it works for someone to borrow a bit of land for the summer, buy 100 stores and sell them on for slaughter making £10 a head in profit then thats exactly what they should do. I dont have enough grazing for that but a modest flock of high quality sheep from large meat lines means I can generate income through breeding lambs for sale or for meat.


I wish I had a quid for the number of times that people had told me that I cant make any money out of something though....Then I would be making a huge profit!

[Foobar]

Record all your costs carefully.  Know your cost of production per lamb or per ewe.  Only knowing your costs in detail can help you reduce them.
Performance record your sheep - in whatever ways you can.  This will help you clearly identify those sheep that do well and those that don't.  Get rid of the ones that don't perform.  I'm lambing 2-3 weeks later next year in the hope to get better grass available post-lambing; better grass=better milk.  I've been recording 60 day lamb weights (adjusted for age or ewe, sex of lamb, singles/twins etc) for three years now so I can use that to see if I get any benefit from lambing later.
Buy quality feed/hay.  Don't waste your time and effort on cheap cr*p.  Buy bulk if you can but that isn't always possible for those of use with small numbers.  Look out for offers though.
Use good pasture management / rotation.
Good planning, year round.  This will help you prevent problems before they happen.  This should include a health plan, a field use plan, tupping/lambing plan, and feeding plans.