Farmgate sales? Are they worthwhile?

Are farm gate sales a good idea for sheep farmers? This means selling to the customer directly off the farm, Some people think they might make more profits this way, but I am not so sure. Most of the general meat buying public do not realise that pricing is different when dealing directly with the farmer and so could get upset when they find out that the hanging weight or the live weight are differently priced from the end product.
Live weight is the weight of the live animal. Generally for a lamb that would be between 85 and 100 lbs. Hanging weight, sometimes called "hot hanging weight" is about 60 percent of this, because there is now no skin or internal organs, except perhaps the liver and kidneys if the customer want them. You would now be down to 60 lbs assuming a 100 lb live lamb.  The butchered weight or market weight is about 60 percent of this, as the butcher trims off fat, some bones etc. You now have only 40 lbs of meat for a 100 lb live weight animal. The butcher or abattoir also charges at least $50 for the processing and packing. To do some more math, the 100 lb lamb, purchased at say $1.50 per pound plus butchering etc. becomes $200 and this is for 40 lbs of meat. Therefore price per pound to the customer is $5 per pound.
You will also have to have a separate freezer to keep your meat in that is for sale to the public. This is the law in Ontario.

You have the additional problem of dealing with the sometimes dissatisfied public, advertising costs, and running back and forth to the abattoir. Some people get around this by making the customer deal directly with the abattoir and paying their costs. If the butcher makes a mistake in the cutting, then they can complain to him!

 Personally, I find it a lot easier to sell the lambs live at auction. You can take in as many as you like at one time and you will probably get almost the same amount of money at the end of the day.

Lamb co-op

We held a meeting at our farm last weekend (March 14th) to see if there were enough sheep farmers in our area interested in forming a lamb marketing co-op. The guest speaker was Keith Salisbury who spoke of his experiences in marketing sheep in the Ottawa region. We had a lamb lunch and about 14 sheep farmers were in attendance.

Keith felt that most producers are not getting enough for their lamb if they sell them live at the auction barns (for example Hoard's Station or Cookstown). He suggested that we could do better by getting together and supplying local high end restaurants and small grocery stores. They would need consistant size and quality. The carcasses should weigh 45-50lbs. He went on to describe the cuts of meat that customers wanted- rolled bones shoulders, legs, shanks, chops and rack of lamb. The rest (not much left over except the belly and the neck) could be made into lamburger. Vaccum packing is best,as this enable the customer to see the product. Most lamb sellers at farmers markets do not have the lamb on display and so do not get as good a price for it. Lamb may not be sold ealiy in farmers markets, but it may lead to "farm gate" sales, through the contacts.

He left us to check into local markets and see what we could come up with.