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Where Lies The Secret?

“The hardest thing for most livestock producers to realize is that we are not in the cattle business. We are in the grass business. We are in effect grass farmers. Grass is the beginning/ the end and everything in between in natural cattle production. It deserves both our respect and attention” – Allan Nation. Editor, The Stockman Grass Farmer.

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Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can’t hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.

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If we estimate dignity by immediate usefulness, agriculture is undoubtedly the first and noblest science.

Our Sheep Feedlot

Traditionally, sheep have been raised on farms for the purpose of generating an income for the farm and family. While some farms make a majority of their income from raising sheep, sheep production is more often a secondary or tertiary enterprise on a farm. In fact, sheep-raising compliments many other agricultural enterprises. It is a popular enterprise for many part-time and lifestyle farmers. Sheep production is a good activity for youth.

Sheep are multi-purpose animals, raised for meat, milk, wool, hides, and skins. While they have been used to control unwanted vegetation for centuries, some producers have developed businesses supplying Sheep and other products (e.g. blood) to bio-science.

The agricultural potential of our country is limited, with relatively little of its surface area suitable for crop production. Much of the country is arid or semi-arid, with only 28% of the land surface receiving 600mm or more of rain per annum. Most land is suitable only for extensive livestock production. Only 16.7 million hectares (13.7%) are arable, and 1.3 million hectares are irrigated.

Sheep feedlot is a great way to expand our farming business vertically. The greatest challenge has been to determine the profitability thereof. Profitability in the feedlot is influenced: 

1. The price at which the lambs are bought. If you feed your own lambs, it will be the store lamb price vs the slaughter price,

2. Feed conversion ratio (FCR): the amount of feed intake (kg) to gain 1 kg of body-weight,

3. Dressing percentage,

4. Average daily gain (ADG).

Our feedlot management system takes into consideration, amongst others, good quality lambs; adaptation process; and grouping of lambs.