Yes, the ewes-with-lambs-at-foot (LAF) market is in full swing and I have been watching it with interest. I believe it to be an under-rated market, with benefits for both vendors and buyers.
Think it through – most of the ewes offered are older animals that have done their time onfarm and are of limited value in the prime or store ewe pens. Couple that with the fact that since they have a lamb feeding off them, the vendor is stuck with them until weaning, which limits options of offloading stock.
Recent prime ewe prices in the North Island put the types of ewes being offered with LAF at $40-$80, though prices are stronger in the South Island. While vendors have had to go through the lambing process and transporting young lambs does come with an element of stress, few lambs have been lost and the outcome for vendors is certainly worth the effort.
Not only are vendors able to offload stock at a time when this is deemed almost impossible but most ewes with LAF are making $65-$80, so, for a ewe with twins, that’s a tidy $195-$240 in the pocket.
Had those ewes been sold scanned-in-lamb, bearing in mind most are older types, they would have made $110-$130 (for multiples), so, while there is a small amount of extra animal health cost and labour, the LAF market is much more profitable.
The win for buyers is in the price they pay for the lambs. Though it might seem extravagant paying $65-$70 for a lamb that has been alive just a matter of weeks, buyers can target early schedule prices (this year looking to start at $6/kg CW) and these early lambs will very quickly become $100 lambs.
From the buyer’s point of view the ewe is essentially an added extra as the chance to buy early lambs is the main objective.
The buyer can see exactly what they are getting and have early lambs on the ground without the need for a lambing beat and the stress that goes with lambing. All the lambs need is their tails off, a quick drench and they can be left to grow.
suz.bremner@nzx.com
