# What do you sell your market lambs for?



## Laurie J (Mar 9, 2005)

The past few years we've been selling our lambs to customers for $3.50/lb. carcass weight, and they pay slaughter fee and cut/wrap. This year, however, we notice the price at the market has been consistently running at $2.00+ per lb. live weight. Since carcasses seem to be a little less than 50% of live weight, we'd have to charge at least $4.00/lb. to even do as well as we can just taking them to auction. We're debating whether we even mess with customers this year, or just take them to auction. Are we charging too little at even $4.00 lb/carcass weight? We have Suffolk lambs. The big lambs our girls already took to the fair and sold at the market sale, but we've got 20 lambs left here at home to sell weighing anywhere from 60-100 lbs.


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## Carol K (May 10, 2002)

As a newbie with no lambs to sell yet, I was interested to see this topic and look at the choices people made. 
I'm sure it depends on if you are commercial/big/small/hobby etc etc.

Carol K


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## Countrygent51 (Jul 30, 2011)

I also find this topic interesting but my recent experience has been on the buyers side of the deal. Hope others with marketing experience will chime in. Would there be any advantage selling to customers on the basis of live weight, possibly with a slight premium if your Suffolks are local farm raised, etc?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Every market is so different you gotta try to really see if its worthwhile. Aim for the premium (sounds like $6/pound would make you smile?) do some cheap/free advertising online or where ever and sit back to see if you can sell your sizzle. Local anitbiotic free hormone free ethically raised grass pastured lamb $6/pound vac packed and frozen. 6 bux not enough? Ask 7. Whats the worst that's gonna happen? KISS rule though give the simple minded one cost to consider, its this much in your car (or delivered) People have no idea what butchering costs are and they don't want to think about turning cutsie wooly lambchop into dinner plate juicy tastey lamb chops. Sanitize your offerings. Great food, you can't get anywhere else, at a fair price. If people don't want to pay you fair, let them eat hotdogs.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

BTW We sell at our local farmers market by the cut. Its work but we enjoy it (heck we're on the mkt board of directors.) We couldnt ever sell 100 lambs there but for a small producer it'll pay your time at least, and more than by the whole lamb.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

Do you have local auction? I try to keep my fall prices based on what the auction prices are. This year I sold all my weaned lambs early (I am in school and just buried with work), all about 45-65 lbs, for a flat rate of $150 each. Prices here for Friday auction was:
LAMBS 50 - 90# 190.00 - 215.00 cwt (per 100 lbs)
LAMBS 100 -150# 175.00 - 195.00 cwt


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

I prefer to sell my lambs at weaning for $90.00 each, but if I raise them another three months I sell them at $180.00 butchered so that works out to around $3.00 a lb hanging weight. I know I'm on the low end or prices, but it works for me. I have a friend that is at $3.50 plus processing. I find the flat rate works better, no one complains about how many lbs they get back in the boxes. 

Next year I'm thinking about adding a premium for ewe lambs, as they always seem to sell first. We will see how that goes. Since I don't raise pure-bred stock, what do you think is a fair premium?


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## nobrabbit (May 10, 2002)

We just sold 2 lambs around 65 lbs. each at the stockyard for $1.72 per pound. That's really good for here.


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## Jcran (Jan 4, 2006)

I just sold a black welsh mountain lamb, 6 months old and about 50-60 lbs for 125. I'll butcher it out for them. A bit more than 2 per lb live weight.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

The real way to set a price is to keep track of what it costs you to raise a lamb (per pound). I keep close farm records. I put in the cost of keeping the ewe and all her associated feed/meds too. This year, because of mild winter and grass coming in early, my cost per pound to raise my lambs (which sold as just weaned) was .67 a pound.


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## Looking4ewes (Apr 30, 2006)

I don't do much direct market with auction prices so good, but I would charge $4.50 lb hanging weight plus processing costs. I would sell the whole animal only, as I don't do farmer's markets. If I were selling a live animal, I would charge a flat $200.

Last year I direct sold 3 hogs and it took 40 hours of my time educating people as to how to process their hogs, not including the time it took to arrange delivery. With the lamb market being so high, it just wouldn't pay me enough to spend my time on direct sales.


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## Jcran (Jan 4, 2006)

I just passed on the cost. I bought two organic pastured lambs for $75 each and sold the one for $125. This means I get a lamb for $25 and the time it takes me to process them.


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