Well-known EasyCare sheep breeder, Campbell Tweed, has expressed a strong degree of confidence in the future of lamb prices.
He bases this assertion on the fact that sheep meat is widely accepted as a source of dietary protein around the world.
“It shares this level of recognition with chicken,” Tweed told Agriland.
“Supply/demand factors are also kicking in to boost sheep prices. Ewe numbers have contracted slightly in the world’s main lamb producing regions.
“Where beef is concerned, however, we are seeing an increase in the amount of meat coming from the dairy sector,” he added.
EasyCare sheep farm
Lambing got underway on Tweed’s Co. Antrim farm on May 10 this year.
He manages the sheep-only enterprise with his wife Isobel. Their farm is located close to the village of Carncastle, overlooking the Irish Sea.
“The lambing percentage across the whole flock is working out at just over 150%,” Campbell explained.
“And this is where we want to be. There are only a few late ewes left to lamb at this stage.”
The recent spell of good weather has boosted grass supplies on the farm.
“We have plenty of good grazing available for the ewes and lambs at the present time,” Campbell commented.
“Our aim is to maximise lamb output from grazed grass and forage.”
Breed
Campbell is celebrating 25 years as an EasyCare sheep breeder. He has recently taken the opportunity of assessing the improvements in flock performance achieved during this period.
Driving this is the commitment to performance-record every lamb born on the farm.
“Output per ewe has increased by around 30% over the past 25 years,” Campbell commented.
“But of even more significance are the improvements that we have obtained in terms of labour efficiency.
“Currently, three people are lambing 3,000 ewes. Moreover, our staff members are working on a 9:00a.m to 5:00a.m basis only.
“They also record every ewe and lamb within the flock on a regular basis.”
The ewes on the Tweed farm have been specifically bred to lamb down on their own with the minimum of additional assistance.
“When we initially committed to the EasyCare ewes, one person was required to lamb 400 ewes,” he explained.
“Our commitment to performance recording has been ramped up significantly over the past number of years.”
The flock recording work undertaken includes the weighing of lambs at six weeks-of-age and at weaning.
Eye muscle scanning is also undertaken to help identify those lambs with superior performance-related traits.