RAC RUNS ITS FLOCK FOR PROFITS NOT SENTIMENT
RAC RUNS ITS FLOCK FOR PROFITS NOT SENTIMENT
Increasing ewe numbers by 50% should help raise profit/ewe from break-even in 1999 to £2.76
for the 2001 season at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. Marianne Curtis reports
FOLLOWING a break-even performance of the Royal Agricultural Colleges flock in 1999, serious questions were asked about its future, according to farms director David Hardy.
"Many arable farms in the area are giving up sheep, but their contribution to soil fertility is often underestimated and the Cotswolds has a long history of sheep production."
But Mr Hardys reasons for continuing to run a sheep enterprise at the college are based on sound financial principles rather than sentiment (see table). "Although we have excellent physical performance, selling 1.8 lambs/ewe, and favourable gross margin figures, the main problem has been fixed costs."
Increasing ewe numbers from 1000 to 1500 has helped spread fixed costs including labour, but it must not be at the expense of flock performance, says Mr Hardy. "Lamb output has always been good so we dont want to compromise it."
The Mule flock is run by flock manager, Justin Morson, who makes use of casual labour for busy periods such as lambing. "This year we will lamb on two sites, employing six casual staff across both sites for the four week lambing period which begins in early April."
Several years ago the college ran a 300-ewe early lambing flock at its Fossehill site and the main spring lambing flock at its larger Harnhill site. Since deciding to disband the early lambing flock in 1998, 1000 ewes subsequently lambed at Harnhill until this year.
"The buildings at Fossehill were redundant and did not lend themselves readily to alternative use so it seemed the obvious place to go back to with sheep when we were expanding the flock," says Mr Hardy.
Passageways were widened to accommodate a tractor with forage box, allowing silage feeding; previously sheep were fed hay. Feeding is carried out at both sites by arable staff, allowing Mr Morson to concentrate on running the flock.
As well as improved lambing facilities, a quad bike and better equipment for fencing sheep paddocks in the arable rotation have been purchased. Previously, the conventionally run flock grazed the colleges organic pastures but anticipated changes in organic rules mean that in future years this will no longer be possible.
"The expanded flock will be integrated into the arable rotation. We will, however, continue to grow leys containing red clover – as on the organic land – because they produce a better quality silage, meaning we use less concentrate," says Mr Hardy.
Concentrate use, though fluctuating according to season, has fallen from about 40kg/ewe in 1993 to 20kg/ewe last year, according to Mr Morson. "D-value of red clover silage is about 66 and ME is 10.8 compared with grass silage which has a D-value of 62 and ME of 10.1." Protein content of clover silage is 14.5.
Concentrate feeding
Ewes are fed an 18% protein concentrate containing 12.5 MJ/kg of ME and 20% starch. "Thin ewes and triplets receive concentrate from six to eight weeks before lambing rising to 1kg/head a day. Twin bearing ewes begin concentrate feeding a month before lambing at a low level, rising to 0.5kg a day," says Mr Morson.
Single bearing ewes receive no concentrate until two weeks before lambing which helps to stimulate milk production as most will be expected to foster a lamb from triplet-bearing ewes, says Mr Morson.
"Scanning means we know exactly how many lambs a ewe will produce, so wet fostering is successful in about 75% of cases. Only a small percentage of lambs must be fostered using stocks."
Lambing mortality is about 8%, mainly due to small lambs resulting from multiple births, says Mr Morson. Regular condition scoring of ewes helps to maintain the high flock output of 1.8 lambs/ewe sold.
"Ewes are condition scored two weeks after weaning and then whenever they are in for foot-bathing, worming or vaccination. When outside, the thin group graze pasture first followed by the fit group."
Royal Agricultural College Sheep Enterprise
1999 (actual) 2001 (forecast)
£/ewe £/ewe
Lamb sales 62.90 62.90
Wool 1.30 1.30
Sheep premium 13.50 13.50
Less ewe depreciation 8.00 7.30
Less ram depreciation 2.00 2.00
Output 67.70 68.40
Concentrates 4.70 6.00
Forage 8.00 11.00
Contract 2.00 2.00
Vet and med 3.40 3.40
Marketing/transport 3.50 3.50
Sundries 1.50 1.50
Variable costs 23.10 27.40
Gross Margin 44.60 41.00
Rent 13.70 10.00
Labour 23.50 19.30
Vehicle, equipment, property 5.00 4.00
Finance 2.40 4.20
Fixed costs 44.60 37.50
Net profit 0 3.50
Depreciation 0 0.74
Profit after depreciation 0 2.76