sheepwheat holy hell

[GDR]

Lamb in Canada is definitely not a secondary product. It is much harder to find, it is what the richer people want. Canada imports half our lamb. So Canadian lamb is even more highly valued because people often want locally grown meat.

If it was an inferior or secondary product, people would not pay 50 bucks for a rack at a restaurant, or 15 dollars for a half lb of shishliki!

I think in Canada, lamb is an exotic type meat, sought after, uncommon, I mean, where is your nearest lamb in a grocery store, especially Canadian lamb? I know I cant find any. Consumers, especially rich consumers are very willing to part with their brass to get a hunk of it...

Mutton can be an inferior product. I certainly get that. Even so, we have beaten out a market for our culls, and we get more money out of a cull than we do out of a lamb by making a specialty product that is in high demand.

Which brings me to this: Breed matters. Wool lamb has its flavor, which for many can be offputting. Hair lambs have their flavor, much milder, and we have businesses buying our lamb, who have had nasty wool lamb experiences, because not everyone can hack it. I have met no one who dislikes hair lamb meat.

Your post started out ok, but then you did the same thing grassfarmer did. Are you part of some white hair sheep supremacist group! Do you have special hats and hand signals?

[Sheepwheat]

Hair sheep matter!!

[GDR]

Sheepwheat we prefer to take the wool and hair off the animal before we eat it. If your customers are happy eating the hide good for you, earn you a few more pounds to sell! I think you have been fooled into believing a false marketing tactic, the response to which is hair sheep is more like eating an old Billy goat! Neither of which are true.

For the record, what we eat as "lamb" in Canada has a very mild taste compared to much of the rest of the worlds production. This is because its grain fed (standard is min 19 days of barley) and young. (Most are butchered at 4 to 5 months of age and approx 110lbs) Considerably different product than imported that often is grass fed and twice as old. Not saying better just different.

We often serve lamb to friends we know are certain they dont like lamb. Most can't believe how good our "beef" is. Lol.

[malleefarmer]

Carcase weight last weeks sale yard lamb around the $8 lamb $6 hoggett per kg and cattle young steers $4 to 5 per kg carcass weight

Most farmers country people who "know" there meat actually prefer hoggett which is usually 12 to 18 months of age way more falvour.

Wool merino have less fat and are leaner than meat/hair lamb as you call it. Most prefer actually xbred a merino crossed with suffolk or border lecester.

Re hoggett mutton there now calling it "aged sheep meat" and they hang it for n100 days some specialty butchers and get top doillar for it. All in the marketing.

Its been statistically proven with the advent of cooking shows on TV geuss you get masterchef there been a swing or increase in red meat consump[tion. Not the bbq/smoking comps the "high end " cooking shows.

But that might all change with these non beef burgers etc

[grassfarmer]

For the record, what we eat as "lamb" in Canada has a very mild taste compared to much of the rest of the worlds production. This is because its grain fed (standard is min 19 days of barley) and young. (Most are butchered at 4 to 5 months of age and approx 110lbs) Considerably different product than imported that often is grass fed and twice as old. Not saying better just different.

Really? I've never seen anyone fatten that young lambs in Canada - nearly everyone I know with sheep lambs May/June and the lambs are fattened on barley and hay late the next winter - even the "grass-fed" direct marketers!
In contrast in the UK the vast majority are finished off grass and their mothers milk starting at 3 months then progressively on grass alone, then maybe forage **** or some grain and later on root crops over winter but most are fat by 3-6 months off grass. New Zealand lamb is also grass produced at a young age and is likely the source of imports here.

[malleefarmer]

im lost "Sheepwheat we prefer to take the wool and hair off the animal before we eat it. If your customers are happy eating the hide good for you"

please explain

[malleefarmer]

Really? I've never seen anyone fatten that young lambs in Canada - nearly everyone I know with sheep lambs May/June and the lambs are fattened on barley and hay late the next winter - even the "grass-fed" direct marketers!
In contrast in the UK the vast majority are finished off grass and their mothers milk starting at 3 months then progressively on grass alone, then maybe forage **** or some grain and later on root crops over winter but most are fat by 3-6 months off grass. New Zealand lamb is also grass produced at a young age and is likely the source of imports here.

Lamb feed lotting is bussiness here grass.

Currently buyers are sourcing light lambs some guys weaning early due to lack of feed in some parts feedlotters buying straight of mum on farm and head to feedlot. Probably 90 to 120 days to get to 22/24 kg carcase

[Sheepwheat]

im lost "Sheepwheat we prefer to take the wool and hair off the animal before we eat it. If your customers are happy eating the hide good for you"

please explain

I believe he was teasing.. lol

[Sheepwheat]

Really? I've never seen anyone fatten that young lambs in Canada - nearly everyone I know with sheep lambs May/June and the lambs are fattened on barley and hay late the next winter - even the "grass-fed" direct marketers!
In contrast in the UK the vast majority are finished off grass and their mothers milk starting at 3 months then progressively on grass alone, then maybe forage **** or some grain and later on root crops over winter but most are fat by 3-6 months off grass. New Zealand lamb is also grass produced at a young age and is likely the source of imports here.

Yeah many ways to finish lambs. In our situation, we want near year round supply out of once a year lambing. Dumb luck has our flock producing varying growth rate lambs which helps a lot. Some lambs grow fast and are ready in 5 months to be finished. Some grow slow enough that they are yearlings and just getting there.

Not the most efficient maybe, but it works here very well. Some finish on grass, some on hay and oats. We don’t see much difference if any in flavour texture etc.

[GDR]

Really? I've never seen anyone fatten that young lambs in Canada - nearly everyone I know with sheep lambs May/June and the lambs are fattened on barley and hay late the next winter - even the "grass-fed" direct marketers!
In contrast in the UK the vast majority are finished off grass and their mothers milk starting at 3 months then progressively on grass alone, then maybe forage **** or some grain and later on root crops over winter but most are fat by 3-6 months off grass. New Zealand lamb is also grass produced at a young age and is likely the source of imports here.

All kinds of production models, same has happened to sheep as cows the last 15 yrs lots have moved to birthing in June for warmer weather but the traditional model here has been winter lambing. We lamb starting mid February, first lambs gone already the rest will be gone before the August 10/11 weekend as it's a big Muslim holiday and prices drop afterwards.
Used to try for Easter lambs by lambing at Christmas time but have gotten later.