The record-high prices paid for hoggets and lambs in April and May 2024 were beyond the aspirations of even the most optimistic sheep farmers. But after two largely positive seasons on the price front, there is now an expectation that prices will not return to the levels witnessed pre-2023.
However, as we have seen in recent years, it is almost impossible to predict with certainty exactly how markets will perform. If we take the current position as an example, hogget and lamb throughput is running over 20% lower year-on-year, yet price pressure is reported from a spike in throughput in Britain, combined with Irish prices running over 50c/kg higher, and reduced competitiveness in key EU markets.
The positive market performance witnessed in the first half of 2024 was also influenced by dreadful weather curtailing lamb growth rates and higher mortality hitting normal production levels. It is reasonable though, considering the ongoing contraction in the national flock, to assume that domestic supplies will remain relatively tight for the immediate months ahead.
Creep feeding
The above factors are food for thought for farmers weighing up whether or not to creep-feed lambs. At the current farmgate price and concentrate cost, there is no doubting that the sale value of animals will cover direct feed costs, but the focus is balancing minimising costs and maximising returns. The decision to creep-feed is not straightforward and needs to take a number of factors into account.
The first of these is how grass supplies are currently looking and the demand profile in the coming months. This does not just take into account the sheep enterprise and should include factors such as increasing demand from a suckler herd, for example. It should also take account of the farm’s recent drafting performance of lambs.
Where grass supplies are capable of meeting demand and quality is good then offering creep feed to lambs will substitute grass intake at a higher cost. If however, grass supplies are tight and lambs are aged upwards of five to seven weeks of age, then there will be more merit in offering feed directly to lambs as opposed to ewes, with creep-feeding also capable of reducing the nutritional pressure on ewes.
This is a given for ewes rearing triplet lambs and yearling hoggets suckling twin lambs and there is no debate here. This priority group is often extended by a batch of thinner or problem ewes/lambs that will benefit from preferential treatment.
Ultimate goal
The ultimate goal of creep-feeding is to get lambs finished quicker and drafted for sale at a higher price. In this context, lambs should be at an age now where they can feasibly be finished before the seasonal price pressure, seen in Figure 1.
Research carried out in Teagasc Mellows Campus Athenry and summarised in Table 1, shows the effect of varying levels of concentrate feeding and grass availability on lamb performance from birth to weaning. Offering creep increased the drafting weight at weaning across both sward height treatments.
Performance was higher where lambs were grazed on swards with an average pre-grazing sward height of 6cm versus 5cm, while the volume of feed consumed was also significantly lower. There was over 20% more lambs drafted at a feeding level of 600g daily at a sward height of 5cm compared to 300g, reducing to 11% more drafted at similar feeding levels and 6cm grass height.
This highlights the importance of still focusing on grassland management and ensuring ewes and lambs are entering swards at recommended pre-grazing sward heights. The study did not look at the merits of feeding concentrates ad- lib but other studies have shown that as the volume of meal offered increases so too does the substitution effect with grass. Such studies have shown intake levels rising by anywhere from 50% to 100% of the levels detailed in Table 1.
Creep grazing will allow restricted levels of concentrates to fed in an easier manner.
Practical implications
The practicalities of limiting concentrate feed intake are challenging in the context of feeding meal in creep feeders. The best results are obtained where lambs have access through creep gates to an area where concentrates can be offered in troughs rather than creep feeders.
This can be best facilitated by creep grazing which can go a long way in achieving the benefits seen by offering concentrates at a rate of 300g per day. Studies undertaken have shown creep grazing lambs ahead of ewes has the potential to boost weaning weights by 2kg. Farm infrastructure is an obvious consideration with creep grazing and it can be achieved via a creep gate with 9in or 225mm spacing. Some farmers have successfully set up a creep feeding area in a corner of a field with sheep hurdles and a creep gate.
Concentrate formulation
The other element that can have a marked influence on the cost of the system is concentrate cost. Cooked or crunch feeds offer the advantage of enticing lambs to start eating creep faster and increase quantities consumed. The disadvantage is a higher cost. Once lambs are eating sufficiently the cost of creep feeding can be reduced by switching to a standard high-energy cereal based ration. A concentrate costing €350/t versus €450/t will result in a saving of €5 per lamb where consuming about 50kg of feed. Purchasing concentrates in bulk over 25kg bags will also offer savings of upwards of €20/t to €25/t.
The record-high prices paid for hoggets and lambs in April and May 2024 were beyond the aspirations of even the most optimistic sheep farmers. But after two largely positive seasons on the price front, there is now an expectation that prices will not return to the levels witnessed pre-2023.
However, as we have seen in recent years, it is almost impossible to predict with certainty exactly how markets will perform. If we take the current position as an example, hogget and lamb throughput is running over 20% lower year-on-year, yet price pressure is reported from a spike in throughput in Britain, combined with Irish prices running over 50c/kg higher, and reduced competitiveness in key EU markets.
The positive market performance witnessed in the first half of 2024 was also influenced by dreadful weather curtailing lamb growth rates and higher mortality hitting normal production levels. It is reasonable though, considering the ongoing contraction in the national flock, to assume that domestic supplies will remain relatively tight for the immediate months ahead.
Creep feeding
The above factors are food for thought for farmers weighing up whether or not to creep-feed lambs. At the current farmgate price and concentrate cost, there is no doubting that the sale value of animals will cover direct feed costs, but the focus is balancing minimising costs and maximising returns. The decision to creep-feed is not straightforward and needs to take a number of factors into account.
The first of these is how grass supplies are currently looking and the demand profile in the coming months. This does not just take into account the sheep enterprise and should include factors such as increasing demand from a suckler herd, for example. It should also take account of the farm’s recent drafting performance of lambs.
Where grass supplies are capable of meeting demand and quality is good then offering creep feed to lambs will substitute grass intake at a higher cost. If however, grass supplies are tight and lambs are aged upwards of five to seven weeks of age, then there will be more merit in offering feed directly to lambs as opposed to ewes, with creep-feeding also capable of reducing the nutritional pressure on ewes.
This is a given for ewes rearing triplet lambs and yearling hoggets suckling twin lambs and there is no debate here. This priority group is often extended by a batch of thinner or problem ewes/lambs that will benefit from preferential treatment.
Ultimate goal
The ultimate goal of creep-feeding is to get lambs finished quicker and drafted for sale at a higher price. In this context, lambs should be at an age now where they can feasibly be finished before the seasonal price pressure, seen in Figure 1.
Research carried out in Teagasc Mellows Campus Athenry and summarised in Table 1, shows the effect of varying levels of concentrate feeding and grass availability on lamb performance from birth to weaning. Offering creep increased the drafting weight at weaning across both sward height treatments.
Performance was higher where lambs were grazed on swards with an average pre-grazing sward height of 6cm versus 5cm, while the volume of feed consumed was also significantly lower. There was over 20% more lambs drafted at a feeding level of 600g daily at a sward height of 5cm compared to 300g, reducing to 11% more drafted at similar feeding levels and 6cm grass height.
This highlights the importance of still focusing on grassland management and ensuring ewes and lambs are entering swards at recommended pre-grazing sward heights. The study did not look at the merits of feeding concentrates ad- lib but other studies have shown that as the volume of meal offered increases so too does the substitution effect with grass. Such studies have shown intake levels rising by anywhere from 50% to 100% of the levels detailed in Table 1.
Creep grazing will allow restricted levels of concentrates to fed in an easier manner.
Practical implications
The practicalities of limiting concentrate feed intake are challenging in the context of feeding meal in creep feeders. The best results are obtained where lambs have access through creep gates to an area where concentrates can be offered in troughs rather than creep feeders.
This can be best facilitated by creep grazing which can go a long way in achieving the benefits seen by offering concentrates at a rate of 300g per day. Studies undertaken have shown creep grazing lambs ahead of ewes has the potential to boost weaning weights by 2kg. Farm infrastructure is an obvious consideration with creep grazing and it can be achieved via a creep gate with 9in or 225mm spacing. Some farmers have successfully set up a creep feeding area in a corner of a field with sheep hurdles and a creep gate.
Concentrate formulation
The other element that can have a marked influence on the cost of the system is concentrate cost. Cooked or crunch feeds offer the advantage of enticing lambs to start eating creep faster and increase quantities consumed. The disadvantage is a higher cost. Once lambs are eating sufficiently the cost of creep feeding can be reduced by switching to a standard high-energy cereal based ration. A concentrate costing €350/t versus €450/t will result in a saving of €5 per lamb where consuming about 50kg of feed. Purchasing concentrates in bulk over 25kg bags will also offer savings of upwards of €20/t to €25/t.
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