Extending the season for prime lamb production from grass

End of Project ReportsIn recent years there has been some interest shown by exporters in acquiring younger lambs than those remaining from the normal springlambing flocks involved in mid-season or store lamb production systems, to supply niche markets in the November to February period. Lambing ewes later in the year, i.e. April to June, offers an opportunity to supply such niche markets with younger lamb. Two farmlet systems were each operated over two years with 59 to 69 ewes on 4.5 ha of pasture in an all-grass production system. The objectives were: to assess the overall performance of flocks in late-lambing systems, to monitor lamb growth rates and drafting pattern, to monitor carcass quality in terms of weight, conformation and fatscore, and to identify any difficulties that may be associated with late lambing systems.European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF