Sheep
Agribusiness News March 2025 – Sheep
Ramadan Ramping Up Trade Ramadan is set to commence on Friday 28th February (depending on the sighting of the moon), this month-long fasting festival is set to end on the 30th March, and then Eid-al-Adha on the 31st to celebrate the end of Ramadan. The timing of this festival is very significant for the sheep…
Agribusiness News February 2025 – Sheep
Shoppers Trends Current lamb trade is at a premium, driven by a good level of demand coupled with global shortages. Looking at our domestic consumer, sales of lamb have shown a 6% rise in volume for 2024 compared to the previous year. Out of home lamb sales have also increased on the year by 8%….
Agribusiness News January 2025 – Sheep
2024 – What a year! 2024 has seen some extreme trading conditions for sheep meat. With a huge drive coming in the late spring from the hogget market with a top SQQ for the year with the week ending 18/05 of £9.27/kg DW. We have again seen the strong demand that key religious festivals drive,…
Keeping and Maintaining Ewe Condition
Managing a ewe’s body condition score (BCS) is an essential tool to ensure performance and productivity of the ewe. This allows to assess the level of fat along the ewes spinous and transverse processes to allow for an understanding of the nutritional status of the ewe. There are industry targets for condition scoring, shown in…
Agribusiness News December 2024 – Sheep & Turkeys
Christmas Costs The American Farm Bureau Federation has recently published their findings for the cost of a thanksgiving dinner for 2024. This is done annually by deploying volunteer shoppers over 50 states to buy specific groceries. The results have found a classic thanksgiving feast for 10 people has decreased in cost to $58.08 – a…
In Conversation With…- Winter Stocktake – Flock Health and Records
Welcome to In Conversation With… hosted this month by Senior Sheep and Beef Consultant Kirsten Williams. On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Willie Budge (Senior Consultant, SAC Consulting) and Kythe Mackenzie (Veterinary Investigation Officer, SRUC). They will discuss trends from the year, what’s coming into the labs, tips on preparing for sheep inspections and…
Sustainable Sheep Systems – Clynelish Case Study
Jason and Vic Ballantyne farm 125 ha (309 acres) on a secure tenancy at Clynelish Farm in Brora, alongside a further 50 ha (123 acres) on a contract farming agreement 1 mile away, 34 ha of which is hill ground. The business utilises several seasonal holdings including crofts and common grazings to away winter stock….
Mineral Requirements in Finishing Lambs
Mineral imbalances in finishing lambs primarily impact growth rates and therefore time to finishing and slaughter. There are several reasons why mineral problems arise in finishing lambs, here we discuss ones that are commonly seen on farms. One of the reasons that problems arise is due to the lamb running out of minerals from the…
Agribusiness News November 2024 – Sheep
Supply and Demand The sheep trade currently shows a true reflection of the balance between global supply and demand. AHDB have recently shown that the UK clean sheep slaughter for Jan-Sept 2024 stands at 8.19 million head, some 700,000 head or 7.9% less than that in the same period in 2023. With less lamb being…
Metabolic Profiling in the Sheep Flock – Why and How to Do It
What is metabolic profiling? Metabolic profiling involves blood testing sheep at key times in the production cycle, such as pre-tupping and pre-lambing or for lambs post-weaning. It is a common management tool used to assess the nutritional adequacy of a ration and to help reduce the risk of metabolic diseases and suboptimal fertility or performance….