From the Pastures: Gaining an advantage

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. As the grazeable grass has been disappearing so has the numbers of our ewe flock. We still have plenty of ewes and replacement ewe lambs, but I felt it was a good time to reward the market.

The opportunities of good profits in a sheep enterprise have brought several inquiries this year and especially this fall. Several plain-folk Amish from Wisconsin have picked up three trailer loads of ewes and ewe lambs last month. Some already have cow/calf enterprises, while others are just getting started in meat production and recognize the benefits of a quicker return on investment that sheep can bring.

While most markets are seeing good prices this year, the advantage the lamb market has over other markets is it doesn’t have the degree of volatility. The supply/demand imbalance caused by an increasing population of lamb eaters and stagnant or diminishing flock numbers continues. I believe the lamb industry, at least the so called non-traditional lamb market, being the 60- to 90-pound live lamb, will not see an overabundance of supply anytime soon with the continuing growth of consumers.

Until more folks like those we have dealt with this past year recognize the potential of a well-managed grass-eating flock, supplies will not get burdensome like regularly happens in farm commodities. Not only has breeding stock doubled in value this past year, but so has the slaughter ewe market. That used to be the advantage of cows over ewes.

A great grazier and cattleman from Mississippi, Dr. Gordon Hazard, used to say “no matter how high you can throw a brick, it will eventually come down.” Prices don’t stay high forever, but as long as you let the animals, whether it be sheep, cows or goats, do what they are created to do, which is converting a renewable, soil-building forage into healthy, life-sustaining meat, there will always be profit potential if we keep input costs low. The trick to that is found in advice I read from another great mind, Allen Nation, editor of Stockman Grass Farmer. He often said of the grazing business, “avoid anything that rusts, rots, or depreciates — tractors don’t have baby tractors.”

Since we have downsized the flock somewhat I won’t be spending much time shed lambing this winter since most of the remaining ewes and lambs will be lambing on pasture next May. We have focused for 15 years to have a 6-month-old or more lamb for our ethnic customers for their holiday when demand skyrockets, but since their calendar shortens that date about 10 days each year, I have given up that market. Next year it will be on or around July 10. Since lately that holiday value now seems to carry throughout the year, I will no longer chase that market. That will be a big switch for me, so I might have to find another enterprise to keep me from getting lazier than I already am. I’ve got an idea for that, but we’ll see.

In the meantime, Ruth and I will prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior. I hope you will join us. Happy trails