New holland pa livestock auction sheep

Wholesale lamb Meaty market lambs. Suffolk and fine wool lambs. Hair x wool crossbred lambs. Hair sheep ram lambs. Lambs at live market. Live market in New York City. Measuring rib eye area. Whole lamb carcasses on a split. Most sheep operations derive the majority of the income from the sale of lambs. As a result, lamb prices have a large influence on profitability and viability of the sheep enterprise.

There are numerous options for marketing lambs and pros and cons to each method. Mutton is the meat from a sheep that is older than one year. Yearling mutton is intermediate between lamb and mutton and comes from a yearling, a sheep between 1 and 2 years of age. Mutton has a stronger flavor than lamb and is usually less preferred by consumers.

In the live animal, age is determined by the teeth front incisors. In the carcass, age is determined by the presence or absence of a spool or break joint. The break joint is a cartilaginous area of the cannon bone that is not ossified bony. This joint ossifies with age to become what is called a spool joint.

A lamb carcass has two break joints on the front shanks. The joints are red, moist, and porous. The ribs of a lamb carcass vary in shape and have some redness on the exposed surfaces.

A mutton carcass has two spool joints. The ribs are wide, flat, and the color of mature bone. A yearling carcass usually has at least one spool joint. Demand for lamb In the United States, the per capita consumption of lamb is very low, less than 1 lb. The "average" American of northern European descent does not consume much lamb; however, lamb holds a significant meaning in the observances of many religions and is a dietary staple in many parts of the world.

Lamb is the preferred meat for many Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holidays. Most lamb is consumed on the East and West Coasts and in major metropolitan areas where large ethnic populations exist. The demand for lamb is usually inelastic, meaning it is not overly sensitive to price.

Lamb grading standards Carcass Lamb quality and yield grade standards have been in existence for many years. Quality grades indicate the palatability and eating characteristics of meat.

USDA lamb grades are Prime, Choice, Good, and Utility. From tomore than 90 percent of lamb carcasses graded Choice. Fatter lambs grade Prime. With the ethnic market's preference for lighter, leaner lambs, more lambs grading Good and Utility are showing up in the market place. Yield grade standards estimate the percentage of closely trimmed, boneless retail cuts from the leg, loin, rib, and shoulder. They are based primarily on the amount of external fat in the carcass. The grades are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, with 1 being the leanest and 5 being the fattest.

Most lambs grade 2 or 3. In the commodity market, yield grade 1s, 4s, and 5s are usually discriminated in price. Live USDA grades for live lambs are the same as the carcass grades.

Because so many lambs grade Choice, some states e. Virginia and West Virginia have split the Choice grade into two grades. A Blue-O or Blue Back lamb is a Prime or high Choice lamb that is expected to have a higher dressing percentage than a Red-O or Red Back lamb. Some states in the Northeast e. New York have modified the USDA grading standards to better fit the needs of the ethnic markets. Lambs are graded as Blue, Red, or Green, regardless of weight.

Blue lambs are fatter and thicker than red lambs. Feeder lambs Feeder lambs are lighter-weight lambs 60 to 90 lbs. They are sold according to weight and frame size, e. Some states have devised their own grading standards for feeder lambs, primarily separating lambs by weight.

Feeder lamb grades have become less important, as almost any lamb is now deemed a potential slaughter lamb, regardless of weight or condition.

Lambs traditionally fed to heavier finish weights are now sometimes bought by ethnic slaughterhouses, which prefer leaner, lighter weight lambs for their holiday kill. Grading is very useful. It provides an uniform description of livestock for commercial buyers. It allows livestock to be co-mingled at the market place. It provides a uniform means to report prices. With grades and other descriptors, you can compare prices of lambs sold in any part of the United States.

Direct marketers can use reported market prices to help them price their lambs. Market weights varies from a lb.

While the average weight of a slaughter lamb in the U. Lambs are marketed between the ages of 2 and 14 months.

Two-month old lambs are sold as hot house lambs, whereas some feed lot lambs still have their milk teeth and spool joints at 14 to 15 months of age. A hot house lamb is a milk-fed lamb that is usually born out-of-season fall or early winter and raised indoors.

Hot house lambs are a delicacy favored by Orthodox Christians, especially at the Easter and Christmas holidays. Consumers generally show no significant preference for meat from wether, ewe, or ram lambs. Ram lambs are leaner and gain faster than ewe and wether lambs, but some commodity markets will discount intact ram lambs. Shrink drift Shrink is an important component of lamb marketing, especially when negotiating price. Shrink is the amount of weight that a lamb loses during transport to market.

Shrink due to trucking is highest in the first 50 to 75 miles. Length of transport increases the amount of shrink. Lambs lose more weight in hot weather than cold new holland pa livestock auction sheep. Lambs consuming grass or forage diets will shrink more than those consuming concentrate diets.

Young lambs shrink more than older lambs. Five to 8 month old lambs usually shrink five percent or more from farm to market weight.

Some buyers will apply a "pencil shrink" to lambs: When lambs are sold on the rail, shrink is not important, as gut fill is removed before the carcass is weighed. When making marketing decisions, shrink needs to be considered as a cost.

Shrink can be reduced some with proper handling. Marketing options Lamb marketing work from home without investment mumbai fit into two broad categories: Commodity marketing Regardless of geographic location, the vast majority of lambs are sold into the commodity market.

This would include selling lambs at a public livestock auction; to an order buyer, broker, or dealer; at a buying station; to a feed lot; through a co-op or marketing pool; or to an abattoir. In the commodity market, you are selling a bulk, generic product. Identity is generally lost in the marketing process. Commodity marketing favors large commercial and low-cost producers and those in close proximity to terminal markets. A terminal market is one in which lambs are bought for immediate slaughter.

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At many other sale barns, lambs are bought for resale at terminal markets. Public livestock auctions Though marketing practices vary by geographic region and size of operation, the most common method to sell lambs is to take them to a public livestock auction also called auction barn, sale barn, or stockyard. Some sale barns organize special sales prior to the major Christian and Muslim holidays.

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Special graded sales are usually a better marketing option for quality lambs than weekly sales. Some sales will grade the lambs and co-mingle them into larger lots. Other sales will offer each owner's lambs separately. There are numerous advantages to selling lambs at a sale barn. It is always available. There are usually sales every 60 seconds binary option brokers system 04e. Payment is guaranteed and prompt.

There are also several disadvantages. Price is not known ahead of time and can fluctuate widely from week-to-week, as local supply and demand vacillate. There are fees to pay: The prices received at local low volume sale barns may be significantly less than the prices paid at regional or terminal high volume markets. Lambs marketed at sale barns may undergo significant stress. Public livestock auctions perform several important functions in the lamb industry. They are boyds stock savage mark 2 place of price discovery.

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Price discovery is the process of determining price in the marketplace by the interactions of buyers and sellers. It is where supply meets demand. Very often the prices received at auction barns are used to negotiate private treaty sales of lambs. Sale barns give small producers more clout in the market place, as larger groups of forex brokers for professional traders are almost always more appealing to buyers.

Dealers, brokers, and order buyers In lieu of selling lambs through a livestock auction, lambs can be sold to a livestock dealer, broker, or order. Selling to a middleman saves the costs associated with selling lambs at an auction barn. Price is negotiated ahead of time. The lambs may be picked up directly from the farm or it may be necessary to transport the lambs to a buying station. When selling lambs in this manner, it is important to know what lambs are worth to make sure a fair price is being paid.

The buyer should be licensed and bonded. A cash transaction is recommended. Marketing alliances and brent oil forexpros Groups of producers sometimes work together to form marketing alliances or co-ops.

Usually, a co-op contracts slaughter and sells whole carcass or cuts to grocery chains or other retail outlets. The co-op establishes standards weight, grade, etc. Unfortunately, few cooperative marketing schemes are sustained over the long run. Abattoir Abattoir is the French word for a slaughterhouse or meat processor.

Many producers, both large and small, market their lambs directly to a processor. The lambs may be purchased live or on a carcass basis. The price may be a spot cash price, a forward price, or a formula price. Value-based marketing is possible when lambs are marketed directly to the processor.

Prices are based on the individual value of each lamb carcass. Grid pricing offers a base price, with a matrix of premiums and discounts, usually based on carcass weight, yield, and quality grade. A pricing grid can be developed for any carcass characteristic with an economic value.

Direct marketing Direct marketing is when lambs are sold directly to the consumer. Direct marketing takes many forms: Direct marketing is also called niche and value-added marketing. The volume of product new holland pa livestock auction sheep is usually much less when lambs are marketed directly to the consumer versus selling commodity lambs.

In direct marketing, a short call option volatility share of the consumer's dollar is forex for macbook by the producer.

Thus, the income potential for direct marketing is substantially higher than for commodity marketing, though costs processing, transportation, etc. The labor associated with selling one lamb can be especially high. Direct marketing favors small-scale producers and those in close proximity to population centers.

It favors producers with "people day trading exit strategies. Successful direct marketers are passionate about what they are selling. Many experts feel that direct marketing is the only way for small-scale producers to compete with larger producers, due to the economies of scale.

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Selling carcasses Selling whole or half lambs for consumers to put into their freezers is the most common form of direct marketing lamb. If the lamb is processed in a federally-inspected plant, the lamb can be sold by hanging weight. The producer usually transports the lambs to the processor. The customer provides cutting instructions and pays for processing.

The meat is stamped "not-for-resale. Federally-inspected plants usually charge more than custom-exempt plants. Customers for the freezer trade vary in the type of lamb they prefer to buy: Grain-fed lamb is considered to be a premium product, because it produces milder-flavored lamb.

At the same time, there is a growing market for grass-fed and naturally-raised lamb. Grass-fed lamb tends to be more healthful. Success in the freezer trade starts with having a good processor. Good customer service will lead to repeat customers and referrals. Meat retail, case-ready cuts More and more producers are selling lamb and mutton at farmers' markets. Buying "local" is growing in popularity. In order to sell lamb at a farmers' market, the lamb must be processed in a USDA-inspected plant.

The meat must be labeled. Requirements for selling meat at a farmers' market will vary by state and market. Product liability insurance may be required. There may be licensing requirements. There many ways to cut up a lamb carcass and customers will vary in their preferences. The five primal cuts of a lamb carcass are the leg, loin, rack, shoulders, and foreshank and breast. Different retails cuts may be obtained from the primal cuts.

Sometimes, whole lambs are purchased for roasting. Sometimes, the entire lamb is cut into chunks. North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming. Alaska Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Hawaii Idaho Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Michigan. Federally-inspected USDA The highest level of slaughter is federally-inspected slaughter.

If a sheep or lamb is slaughtered in a federally-inspected facility, the carcass may sell in interstate commerce. However, to sell meat wholesale or retail cutsa product label is required. The label needs to include the producer's name and logothe name of the product, ingredients, an inspection legend identifying the processing facility, net weight, and safe-handling instructions. The label must be approved by USDA. Not all meat processors are willing or able to put labels on meat.

USDA federal inspection is required for meat sales on-farm, at farmers' markets, via the internet, through CSAs, and to restaurants and retail stores. It must be used exclusively to store meat sold to customers. Meat for personal use should be shorted in another freezer. It should have a lock. If meat will be transported to another sale site, the vehicle used for transport must be equipped to maintain frozen or refrigerated products.

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Sales and distribution of meat usually require a license. This is usually done by electrocution or stunning with a captive bolt gun. Religious or ritual slaughter is exempted from the Humane Slaughter Act. In religious slaughter, the animal is not stunned prior to slaughter. Instead, the jugular veins, carotid arteries, esophagus, and trachea of the animal are severed with a swift, deep cut.

Upright restraint should be used in religious slaughter. Animals should never be shackled or hoisted before slaughter. There is disagreement as to which is a more humane method of slaughter. Because no-stun slaughter looks more "violent" to the onlooker, it is assumed that it is less humane. The two primary religious minorities that practice ritual slaughter are Jews Kosher and Muslims Halal. Many Muslim markets are willing to accept pre-slaughter stunning. Marketing claims Increasingly marketing claims are being made to distinguish food products in the market place.

In the past several years, USDA has legally defined organic, grassfed, and naturally-raised. In order to use these labels, the program standards must be followed and the farm must be certified. Third-party certification is available for various animal welfare, humane handling, and agricultural sustainability claims.

Lamb cannot be marketed as "hormone-free," as it has naturally-occurring hormones. Any nutritional claims must be substantiated by appropriate data. The check-off should be collected by the first handler, usually the entity that takes possession of the animal for slaughter, including custom-exempt and ethnic slaughterhouses. First handlers may also include producers, feeders, and direct marketers. Assessments must be remitted monthly to the American Lamb Board, Network Place, Chicago, IL They need to be sent with the remittance form.

The lamb check-off funds the American Lamb Boarda member board appointed by the U. Secretary of Agriculture, whose charge is to promote American lamb. Producers in those states are obligated to the pay their state check-off, in addition to the national checkoff. This site is optimized for Firefox. Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications IMPS, Alabama Arizona Delaware Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Maine Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana.

Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Dakota Tennessee Washington. Late updated Feb by Susan Schoenian. Sheep and Sheep Index About the author Getting started Why do you want to raise sheep? Meat, milk, or wool? Breed Selection Hair sheep primer Dairy sheep basics Facilities Housing Feed and water Fencing Handling Behavior Breeding Ewe reproduction Ram reproduction Breeding systems Selecting breeding stock Health Biosecurity Diseases A-Z Vaccinations Internal parasite control Drug use Lambing Lambing systems Getting ready Lambing process Newborn care Docking and castrating Weaning Management Hoof care Shearing Record keeping Calculating adj.

Lamb Marketing Most sheep operations derive the majority of the income from the sale of lambs. Approximate yield lbs of various cuts from lamb carcasses.