The major threat posed by bluetongue was immediately evident to members of the Offaly Quality Lamb Producer Group, at their recent visit to the Sommet de l’Elevage agricultural show held in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The sheep exhibit was greatly reduced, with farmers wary of showing sheep due to the high risk of disease on the continent.

Many farmers that group members spoke to reported losses of in excess of 15% being the norm, with some conveying reports of flocks being hit with losses of upwards of 25% to 30%.

Farmers there are hopeful that the onset of winter weather conditions will reduce midge activity and provide some well-needed respite from the disease.

Farm visit

The group trip was partly subsidised by an FBD Insurance bursary, aimed at enabling members to adapt to new technologies and gain new knowledge to enhance their own farming enterprises. In addition to visiting the show and seeing the latest animal handling and recording technologies, the group also visited an agricultural college in the Bourbonnais region and an abattoir.

The mixed farm is home to a herd of 100 pedigree Charolais cows, a 300-ewe pedigree Ile de France sheep flock, a 9,000 head broiler production poultry unit and tillage enterprises.

The make up of sheep flocks and suckler herds differs greatly to Irish breeding programmes, with the majority run as pure breeding.

The sheep production system also differed greatly, with lambs produced in an intensive indoor-finishing system. The ewe flock is lambed in three blocks, 100 ewes lambed in January, 100 in September and 100 in October.

The spread in lambing is partly aimed at giving students an opportunity to experience lambing, but farm manager Fabrice Ranoux says an indoor system with ewes lambing in January is typical to the region – as their ability to grow grass during the summer is generally limited, due to the dry nature of the area. This year has been an exception to the norm and with higher rainfall levels in recent months, the farm had good green cover present at the time of the visit.

Production system

Ewes are synchronised (sponges used) to lamb in autumn, with natural mating for the January lambing. The aim is to demonstrate a low-cost model of production to students. The mainstay of the ewe diet is high-quality alfalfa hay and red clover hay, with the latter enhancing the protein content of the diet.

The farm also grows wheat and barley, which is fed to ewes pre-lambing, with rapeseed meal utilised to increase crude protein levels if forage quality is poorer than normal. Post lambing, ewes remain indoors with their lambs on alfalfa hay and red clover hay, with no concentrates fed.

Lambs are offered a 16% protein nut in creep areas from birth to slaughter. Lambs are typically weaned at 12 weeks of age and at this stage ewes return outdoors to poorer pasture to dry off. They are run on such pasture over the summer months, with a focus on rebuilding condition before the next breeding season.

Marketing lambs

Lambs are typically slaughtered by 16 weeks of age, averaging a 19kg carcase, at a current market price of over €9/kg. Fabrice highlighted that although the price is running €1.70/kg higher than the Irish market, profitability issues are still to the fore, due to the high levels of concentrate needed to finish lambs indoors.

Farmers are encouraged to produce lambs to market spec, with price cuts in place for lambs dying above 22kg and likewise for lambs under 18kg carcase weight. Attempts to keep costs down were seen, with the simplicity of the ewe diet and also on the animal health plan.

Ewes receive a clostridial vaccine only, are monitored for liver fluke and dosed accordingly, and not dosed against stomach worms. Lambs are not dosed against nematodirus or other stomach worms due to the absence of grass in the diet and prevention for coccidiosis is in place, alongside a clostridial vaccine programme.

In short