MARKET REPORTS

GRAHAM ELLIS FRICS FAAV FLAA

For and on behalf of Stanfords

T: 01206 842156 E: info@stanfords-colchester.co.uk

www.stanfords-colchester.co.uk

FANTASTIC

As a result of the cold late spring, grass growth in the eastern counties has been severely restricted and there are serious concerns about forage later in the year, but still we see live markets producing fantastic returns for producers of both cattle and sheep. With numbers still inadequate in all sections and with strong companies of buyers, more stock is wanted.

Prime cattle are trading some 40p/kg above 12 months ago, equating to over £200 per head in

RETURNS FOR PRODUCERS

many cases; as always quality pays, with good meat cover being essential for maximising returns. As always, though, livestock markets produce an outlet for all stock of whatever quality.

The strong beef trade was refl ected throughout all sections of the livestock market, with over-age cattle, including cull cows, also exceptionally well sold at prices that probably had not been seen before. Despite the shortage of grass there are many buyers looking for cattle to graze. Let us hope by the time this report is printed that we will have seen some warm rain and some positive grass growth.

In the prime cattle ring, prices are regularly between 240p/kg and 250p/kg for the best, and prices well over £1,600 per head have been seen in Colchester

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on a regular basis, climbing to £1,880 for strong steers. As always heifers are keenly sought by retail and wholesale buyers to ensure supply is there to the public who wish to buy quality British meat. The sheep market continues to push ahead at levels unseen in the past. The cold weather is holding back new season lambs, but any hoggets being sold at the beginning of May look exceptionally well sold with many trading over £150 per head and the heavier continentals over £170 per head. The demand seems to be unstoppable, with numbers inadequate. Trade on average is well over 100p/kg more than the same time last year, equating to between £30 and £50 per head.

As stated, new season lambs were short at the beginning of May but hopefully numbers will increase as warmer weather spreads in. Remarkable trade has been seen for the best forward. Many farmers have been drawing lambs earlier than they would normally in terms of fi nish, but who can blame them when the trade is at the level it is?

Let us hope the trade can continue through the summer months so that sheep producers can see a realistic return and invest for the future. This trade has been wanted for many years to keep livestock producers in business and it is good to see. Cull ewe trade is following lamb trade with all numbers inadequate. The pig market is also seeing a welcome lift on the dead weight; with so few markets now selling live weight it is diffi cult to gauge a true demand, but a much larger increase in price is required to off set the very high feed costs that pig producers have, with wheat, barley and soya all at high levels.

The cull sow trade also increased but still remains at very low levels.

With the extreme dry and cold weather throughout April and early May, arable crops are under severe pressure in places, with spring crops particularly hard hit on the lighter land in Essex and Suff olk. As stated above, let us hope that by the time this report is read we have had some sensible rain levels and a realistic harvest ensues.

IS THIS THE NEW ‘NORMAL’?

There is currently a list of questions that I am asked with increasing regularity, which includes: “What will happen to the sheep trade when we go back to normal?”; “What is making these sheep so dear?”; “What will the sheep be worth in the autumn?”

I will deal with these in reverse order and immediately shrug my shoulders at the latter question regarding the autumn predictions for store and breeding prices. We cannot assume that due to the current slaughter price boom we will see increased prices for breeding sheep from August onwards as, to put it simply, these are two very diff erent markets which have diff erent intentions. We saw hogget prices in line with our current levels once before, in 2018, but in the autumn breeding sheep prices were very much in line with what we would consider to be ‘normal’.

We have seen increased numbers of females being off ered for sale in the fi nished pens in recent months, but in most cases these sheep are worth more to slaughter than any farmers are willing to pay to put them into their breeding fl ocks at this time of year. This will decrease the number of sheep available nationally in the autumn, so the old supply and demand rule will push prices upwards once more. But after 15 years of standing on the rostrum, there is only one thing that is guaranteed in the sheep

JOHN ROSSITER

T: 01233 502222

www.hobbsparker.co.uk

industry… unpredictability!

Now back to my fi rst question. What is this normal life that we keep talking about, though? Pubs opening, restaurants packed? Holidays abroad and fully packed football stadiums?

The answer again here is quite diffi cult to predict. It will depend on whether consumers choose to continue their current practice of eating better at home in place of the odd meals out in restaurants, as the last year has shown us a surge in sales in butcher shops and farm shops across the country due to the restaurants being shut. We all hope that consumers choose to buy better and eat better now that it has become commonplace, but I fear this will always be ruled by price as we saw in meat sales in the pre-pandemic era.

So to my fi nal, and undoubtedly my most commonly asked question, which is: “Why are these sheep so dear?” From early 2020 to the time of writing, we have had a global pandemic which has shut down the hospitality industry, and we have also had the minor issue of Brexit, which has had an impact on UK exports to Europe.

Now these two points alone suggest an unmitigated disaster for the UK sheep meat industry, but in the typically unpredictable fashion I mentioned earlier, we have seen record prices broken on a weekly basis throughout early 2021. At the time of writing, in Ashford, we have seen fi nished hoggets selling in excess of £180 and new season lambs at 400p/kg and we have seen cull ewes break the £200 barrier on several occasions. These are prices we expected to see on show week once a year but are now commonplace.

But why? Well, with a decline in the numbers in the national fl ock and this increased interest in cooking and eating better at home, competition for the lower numbers of stock on off er has been very high, almost unprecedented. Numbers are not going to increase rapidly overnight and this new demand will not decrease overnight either, which suggests that maybe the fi gures we are currently seeing may be nearer to the new ‘normal’ than we realise.

Yes, we may be at the very top of this wave and the summer months will bring with it the standard drop off in demand for sheep meat, but the days of the £70 fi nished lamb may be behind us. It would have taken a very brave man to predict this in his crystal ball in January 2020, but let’s not complain and let’s hope the ‘new normal’ is here to stay.

NIGEL TAKES ON NEW ROLE

Surrey beef farmer Nigel Franklin has been appointed as regional facilitator for the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association (PFLA) in the South East.

Nigel, who farms near Redhill in Surrey, will be organising farm visits and meetings and providing support to local PFLA farmers interested in producing more of their meat and dairy from grass and forage.

The PFLA, which brings together almost 700 UK farmers, butchers, academics and consumers with an interest in the regenerative role of ruminant grazing animals, is setting up regional groups to reach increasing numbers of farmers looking to take a more sustainable approach to food production.

The association believes pasture-only farming off ers benefi ts including greater soil health, better animal welfare, and more biodiversity and wildlife, as well as providing tasty, nutritious food that is healthy for consumers to eat.

Nigel previously worked in the events and exhibitions industry and in his late teens spent four years working for race horse trainer Guy Harwood. For the past three years he has been farming with his wife Penny at Brightleigh Farm, where they have a herd of Black Baldies, a robust cross of Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle. The cattle are grazed from spring to autumn and housed in winter, when they are fed on just conserved grass – as hay or silage.

No fertiliser or sprays are used in the fi elds, which encourages a wide range of pasture plants including herbs and wildfl owers to grow and support large numbers of insects, birds and small mammals.

All the beef is Pasture for Life certifi ed, which means that the cattle have only ever eaten a natural pasture-based diet and have never been fed any cereals or grains. “I am very interested in regenerative farming techniques and am keen to encourage more farmers to take up this way of farming,” said Nigel.

“The benefi ts to the soil, the environment and the animals are there for all to see – and it also produces the healthiest and best tasting meat people can buy. I am also working on linking up producers with butchers and retailers in this area.”

Nigel can be contacted at nigel@pfl a.org.uk