Farmer Focus: Struggling to justify more than £600 for a ram
© Richard Stanton With the onset of autumn well and truly here, September is an exciting time of year for me.
It’s the sheep sale season, and it’s also the start of the new college year, bringing a new batch of enthusiastic students with an infectious attitude to learn new things.
This year’s crop of students is no exception – they are a credit to their upbringing and communities and, so far, are a pleasure to teach.
See also: Kelso ram average lifts again to £999 record
About the author
Sometimes, I’m sure I’m the bane of many parents’ lives, with students going back home at the end of term wanting to try out new things, but I make no apologies about this.
Personally, I encourage students to take ideas back to parents and challenge the existing ways of thinking, as they are the future of our industry.
Learn new things
College, university, farm open days, NFU meetings, livestock markets… these are all places where I believe you should take opportunities to learn new things and maybe try them out within your own farming business.
Sometimes what you try doesn’t work, but without trying, you will never know the benefits it could bring to your business.
There are other real benefits to being a lecturer. One of these is having some decent time away from college over the summer.
As well as catching up with farm jobs, I visited some local county shows and met up with friends I have not seen since before Covid.
One highlight was the Merioneth Show (Sioe Sir), as it was filled with things my family enjoyed.
I was impressed with the standard of sheep, in particular the Welsh ewes. My daughter took a fancy to some Black Welsh Mountain sheep – so much so, she now owns four of her own.
Inconsistent prices
Sheep sales I’ve attended have so far been inconsistent. Some sales have been down by as much as £18 a head from last year, while others have been up a little.
Maybe this follows a lack of grass. I think the poorer-looking ewes have been expensive, but stronger types seem good value.
I’ve found ewe prices turbulent and rams very expensive. I struggle to justify investments of more than £600 for tups.
I know if we break down the cost based on “per ewe served” it seems reasonable, but they still seem a big outlay for one animal.