This is the third presentation in a 4-part webinar series on the ethnic marketing of lamb and mutton.

1. Ethnic marketing of
lamb and mutton
Part III. Understanding and evaluating your options
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu

2. Options for selling a live animal
• There are three main options for selling live animals to the
ethnic market(s):
1. Sale barn (auction)
2. Middleman
3. Direct to the consumer
• There are different options
within each category.
• Each option has various pros and cons.
• There is no best way to market
live animals; it should be the
method(s) that is most profitable,
when all costs considered.

3. Marketing animals through a sale barn
(also called auction or stockyard)
• Not all auctions are equal.
• Local
• Terminal
• Weekly
• Special
• Graded
• Sponsored

4. Pros and cons of marketing
livestock through a sale barn
PROS
• Place of price discovery
• Price competition (usually)
• Prompt, guaranteed
payment (P&S Act)
• Unbiased grading (usually)
• Animals are weighed and
weights are certified.
• Easy
• Convenient
• Low labor
CONS
• You are a price taker
• Prices not known
ahead of time
• Price volatility
• Selling fees can be substantial
(commission, insurance, yarda
ge, feed), especially
for lighter lambs.
• Stressful to livestock
• Transportation costs
• Shrink

5. Tips for marketing through a sale
barn, with the ethnic markets in mind
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sell livestock prior to major ethnic holidays, at least one week ahead of time.
Do not castrate males, unless necessary.
Do not dock lambs, unless necessary.
Do not sell dirty animals with soiled hocks and hindquarters.
Consider shearing animals that are neither too fat nor too thin.
When selling suckling lambs/kids, sell them directly off their dams.
Mark your animals according to how you want them sold.
Do not bring your animals to the sale barn at the last minute.
Make sure your animals have feed and water.
Call the market manager ahead of time. Get to know manager(s).
Sit through auctions. Get to know buyers.
Consider selling when reported prices are low.
Consider breeding out-of-season.
Pay attention to body condition. Don’t sell culls that are too fat or too thin.
Sell to the auction that offers you the most profit – not necessarily the
highest price.

6. Ethnic/religious holidays impact prices.
Price per cwt, ~70 lb. lambs, Prime and Choice, YG 2-3
New Holland, Pennsylvania
Festival of the Sacrifice
Oct 15
$240
$220
Orthodox Easter (May 5)
$200
Western Easter
Mar 31
$180
$160
$140
$120
Ramadan
Jul 9- Aug 8
25-Nov
11-Nov
28-Oct
14-Oct
30-Sep
16-Sep
2-Sep
19-Aug
5-Aug
22-Jul
8-Jul
24-Jun
10-Jun
27-May
13-May
29-Apr
15-Apr
1-Apr
18-Mar
4-Mar
18-Feb
4-Feb
21-Jan
7-Jan
$100

7. 7-Jan
6-May
5-Aug
2-Dec
25-Nov
18-Nov
11-Nov
4-Nov
28-Oct
21-Oct
14-Oct
7-Oct
30-Sep
$214
$230
$182
$136
23-Sep
16-Sep
9-Sep
2-Sep
26-Aug
19-Aug
12-Aug
$193
$148
29-Jul
22-Jul
15-Jul
$154
8-Jul
1-Jul
24-Jun
17-Jun
10-Jun
3-Jun
27-May
20-May
13-May
$172
3000
29-Apr
22-Apr
15-Apr
8-Apr
1-Apr
25-Mar
$204
3500
18-Mar
11-Mar
4-Mar
$183
2000
25-Feb
1500
18-Feb
11-Feb
4-Feb
28-Jan
21-Jan
14-Jan
$182
Supply impacts prices.
Number sheep sold at New Holland Sales Stables in 2013
4000
Prices for Prime & Choice, YG 2-3
major holidays
$191
$163
2500
1000

8. Quality (grade) has an effect on prices.
Price per cwt, 70-lb. lambs @ New Holland, Pennsylvania
Choice & Prime, 2-3
Choice & Prime, 3-4
Good & Choice, 1-3
Utility & Good, 1-2
$260
$240
$220
$200
$180
$160
$140
$120
$100
$80
7-Jan
7-Feb
7-Mar
7-Apr
7-May
7-Jun
7-Jul
7-Aug
7-Sep
7-Oct
7-Nov
7-Dec

9. Effect of quality (grade) on goat prices
60-80 lb kids, $ per head (weighted average)
New Holland, Pennsylvania USA
April 1 -November, 4, 2013
$200
$180
$160
$140
$120
$100
$80
$60
4/1
4/8
4/22 4/29
5/6
5/13 5/20 5/27
6/3
6/10 6/17 6/24
7/1
7/8
7/15 7/29
8/5
8/12 8/19 8/26
9/2
9/9
9/16 9/23 9/30 10/21 10/28 11/4
Selection 1 $139 $159 $154 $169 $150 $155 $169 $145 $178 $168 $146 $140 $164 $182 $159 $122 $134 $131 $154 $143 $138 $145 $139 $133 $152
161
139
141
Selection 2 $107 $134 $131 $145 $122 $113 $125 $141 $158 $125 $117 $109 $143 $136 $132 $105 $114 $108 $106 $115 $116 $129 $112 $121 $112
120
102
118
Selection 3
93
76
86
$63
$109
$89
$70
$98
$88
$99
$71
$85
$108 $103
$83
$88
$107
$90
$79
$99
$97
$89
$68
$89
$94
$85
$104
$90

10. Marketing animals to a middleman.
There are many middlemen willing to buy your sheep.
• Buying station
• Order buyer
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•
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•
•
•
•
Dealer/broker
Abattoir/processor
Ethnic Store
Ethnic restaurant
Cooperative
Live market
Other producers

11. Pros and cons of marketing
livestock to a middleman
PROS
CONS
• Opportunity to negotiate
• Payment risk
–
–
–
–
Price
Shrink
Delivery
Contract
• Price known ahead of time
• Low cost method
– No selling fees
– No processing costs
• Low labor
[sell to bonded/licensed dealers;
require cash payment]
• May not always be the
highest price offered;
middleman needs to
make a profit, too.
• May not always be buying.

12. Direct marketing live animals
• Different options
1. Cash-and-carry
2. Custom slaughter
Mobile slaughter
3. On-farm slaughter
(where legal)

13. Pros and cons of direct
marketing live animals
PROS
• Set your own price
• No selling fees
–
–
–
–
Commission
Yardage
Insurance
Feed
• No processing costs
• Less stress to animal
• Low labor
CONS
• Payment risk
• Language and cultural barriers
• Buyer may lack suitable
transportation
• You may not know where and
how animal is slaughtered
On-farm slaughter
• Legality
[not legal in most states]
• Need a place to slaughter
• Offal disposal
• Comfort (not for everyone)

14. Direct marketing carcasses and/or
meat to the ethnic markets
• There are many options for direct marketing
carcasses and retail cuts to ethnic consumers.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Farm store
Farmer’s market
CSA
Internet sales
Ethnic restaurant
Ethnic store
Ethnic events

15. Pros and cons of direct
marketing meat
PROS
CONS
• You set your own price
• You incur none of the costs
associated with selling a live
animal.
• Your are eliminating almost all
of the middlemen.
• Opportunity to sell your own
branded product(s).
• The demand for local meat is
growing.
• Interaction with customers.
• Many regulations
(local, state, and federal) govern
the sale of meat and meat
products.
• All livestock have to be processed
in a USDA or state-inspected
plant; processing costs can be
high.
• You may not be able to sell all
cuts.
• Can be costly and timeconsuming to deliver product to
market place and to sell it.
• Some markets require
year-round availability.
• Sometimes, the local live market
will be higher.

16. American lamb check-off
www.lambcheckoff.com
• ALL sheep are subject to assessment when sold.
[market lambs, feeder lambs, freezer lambs, ethnic lambs, 4-H lambs, culls, breeding stock]
• Two assessments
1. Producer (and feeder)
$0.007 per lb. sheep sold
2. First handler (usually processor)
$0.42 per sheep slaughtered
• Assessments should be remitted monthly to the American Lamb
Board (by the 15th of the month following the sale).
• The check-off funds the activities of the American Lamb Board:
promotion, education, information, and communication.

17. How does the check-off work?
Producer
Marketing agency
• The producer is assessed $0.007
per lb. of live sheep that he sells.
• Who remits the check-off (to the
Lamb Board) depends upon the
method of marketing.
• Feeders are
obligated to
pay $0.007
per lb. on the
weight that
the sheep
gains.
• Sheep held for less than 10 days
are exempt from the check-off.
• Marketing agencies, while
exempt from the checkoff, collect the assessment
($0.007/lb) from the producer
(seller) and pass it on to the
buyer.
• If you market sheep through
a sale barn,
you do not
need to remit
anything to
the Lamb
Board.

18. How does the check-off work?
First handler (usually processor)
• Producer portion of check-off
has been passed onto the first
handler by marketing agency
or it is deducted from the
selling price of the lambs.
• First handler is assessed an
additional $0.42 per head.
• First handler remits entire
assessment to Lamb Board.
Direct marketers
• Direct
marketers
are both
producer
and first
handler
and are
assessed an
additional
$0.42 per
head.
• If you are a direct marketer you
need to remit both the producer
($0.007/lb) and first handler
($0.42/head) portions of the
check-off to the Lamb Board.

19. Check-off examples for 100 lb. lamb
The assessment for a 100-lb. lamb is $1.12 (100 lbs. x $0.007/lb + $0.42/head).
Sell at local sale barn
1.
2.
Sale barn deducts producer
portion of check-off ($0.70)
from sale proceeds.
Whoever eventually
slaughters the lamb pays the
first handler portion of checkoff ($0.42) and remits entire
amount of check-off ($1.12)
to Lamb Board.
Lamb sold at Farmer’s Market
1.
2.
3.
Producer is both producer and
first handler.
Producer pays producer
($0.007/lb. and first handler
portion ($0.42/head) of checkoff.
Produce remits both portions of
check-off ($1.12) to Lamb
board.
Sell freezer lamb to customer
1.
2.
3.
Producer is both producer and
first handler.
Producer pays producer
($0.007/lb. and first handler
portion ($0.42/head) of checkoff.
Produce remits both portions of
check-off ($1.12) to Lamb
board.
Sell live animal to processor
1.
2.
3.
Processer deducts producer
portion of check-off ($0.70)
from purchase price.
Processor pays first handler
portion of check-off ($0.42).
Processor remits total checkoff ($1.12) to Lamb Board.

20. Check-off examples for 100 lb. lamb
The assessment for a 100-lb. lamb is $1.12 (100 lbs. x $0.007/lb + $0.42/head).
Sell at local sale barn
1.
2.
Sale barn deducts producer
portion of check-off ($0.70)
from sale proceeds.
Whoever eventually
slaughters the lamb pays the
first handler portion of checkoff ($0.42) and remits entire
amount of check-off ($1.12)
to Lamb Board.
Lamb sold at Farmer’s Market
1.
2.
3.
Producer is both producer and
first handler.
Producer pays producer
($0.007/lb. and first handler
portion ($0.42/head) of checkoff.
Produce remits both portions of
check-off ($1.12) to Lamb
board.
Sell freezer lamb to customer
1.
2.
3.
Producer is both producer and
first handler.
Producer pays producer
($0.007/lb. and first handler
portion ($0.42/head) of checkoff.
Produce remits both portions of
check-off ($1.12) to Lamb
board.
Sell live animal to processor
1.
2.
3.
Processer deducts producer
portion of check-off ($0.70)
from purchase price.
Processor pays first handler
portion of check-off ($0.42).
Processor remits total checkoff ($1.12) to Lamb Board.

21. State check-off programs
Payment to state check-off programs is mandatory.
State
California
Colorado
Mandatory assessment
Web site
$0.08 per pound of wool
$0.25 per head
http://www.coloradosheep.org/sheep---wool-authority.html
$0.005 x value of sheep sold
Indiana
Iowa
http://www.hoosieragtoday.com/indiana-sheep-and-wool-checkoff-assessmentto-begin-dec-1/
$0.10 per head
$0.02 per lb. of wool
http://www.iowasheep.com/
Kentucky
Ohio
$0.005 x value of sheep and goats sold
https://kysheepandgoat.org/Check_Off.html
$0.005 x value of sheep sold
$0.001 per lb. of wool
http://www.ohiosheep.org/oswp.html
Oregon
$0.50 per head
http://oregonsheepcommission.com/

22. Final thoughts about marketing options
• Sell lambs for a profit –
know your cost of
production.
• Sell lambs for highest
“net” price; consider all
marketing costs when
choosing best option(s).
• Have a plan for marketing
your lambs; don’t just
take them to the sale
barn when you feel like it.

23. Thank you for
your attention.
Questions?
The last webinar will be held
Tuesday, December 10 at 7 p.m. EST.
The topic will be “Developing a
marketing plan.” The speaker will be
Dr. Richard Ehrhardt from Michigan
State University.