Improve net margins with lamb loss data use

Data on lamb losses can help ensure farmers make the changes necessary to reduce deaths and improve profits, AHDB research suggests.

AHDB Beef and Lamb Stocktake figures published yesterday point to a relationship between higher lamb rearing percentages and greater net margins.

See also: Advice for reducing lamb losses

Numbers from non-Severely Disadvantaged Area (non-SDA) breeding flocks show that if net margin per ewe put to tup is plotted against the rearing percentage (see figure 1), there is a gentle upward trend.

This shows that higher rearing percentages are loosely associated with a higher net margin, says Liz Genever, senior beef and sheep scientist at AHDB.

“If lamb losses from birth to rearing (as a percentage of lambs born alive) is plotted against net margin (figure 2), there is a gentle downward trend,” she says.

“This suggests that lower lamb losses are loosely associated with higher net margins.

“This is perhaps not surprising, but the data does show the range in lamb losses that the Stocktake farms reported.
 Reducing lamb losses should be key for every business and using records of when lambs die can help ensure changes to management practices are targeted appropriately.”

But Dr Genever says above all, cost control is critical.

“The graph indicates that while output is important, cost control is key, as there are farms rearing less than 150% that have a higher net margin per ewe than flocks rearing more than 150%.

“Having access to physical and financial performance data, and knowing how this compares with other similar enterprises, is essential for sheep producers who want to identify areas for improvement within their business.”