FIVE teams of young farmers whose lamb finishing and crop growing skills are being put to the test are being urged to focus on the requirements of their end market.

The Farming Connect Farmer Enterprise Competition teams gathered at the Royal Welsh Show to hear an overview of the current lamb market.

Hybu Cig Cymru Industry Information Officer John Richards said a key to profitable lamb production is to produce what the market requires. He encouraged the competitors to have a discussion with their buyers.

“It is important to understand what buyers are looking for and to set targets to achieve that end goal," he said.

“Each buyer has slightly different requirements; some might want lambs to be heavier. It very much depends on the time of year.’’

Mr Richards advised the teams to regularly assess their lambs to monitor growth rates and to use inputs to their full potential.

The competition will culminate with lambs being selected for slaughtering at the Dunbia abattoir in Llanybydder.

Wyn Williams, Group Procurement Manager at Dunbia, said efficiency was a key to profitable lamb production. He urged the five teams to make the most of their resources.

“Make sure your lambs are healthy and thrive and get the best out of the land to avoid paying extra for feed."

And he told the teams to not be afraid of change, to grasp opportunities that came their way. Dunbia, he said, was a shining example of this. The company had listened to its customers and, as a result, had been able to invest and grow.

The Farmer Enterprise Competition, in its second year, was created with the aim of developing the managerial skills of the competitors and to enhance the co-operation between all links of the supply chain. The competition will focus on the abilities of the teams to incorporate crop management, health planning, performance recording, benchmarking and use of technology. All teams will be supported by industry leading experts to enhance their knowledge and facilitate informative decision-making.

The teams have been set the challenge of finding a winning formula to produce the most profitable pen of Welsh Mountain lambs grazed on a crop at Henfaes, a Bangor University experimental farm.

The winning team will be the one that emerges with the highest number of points awarded at each stage of the competition.

Agricultural and environmental grassland specialist, Charlie Morgan, and independent sheep specialist, Dr Catherine Nakielny, are mentoring the teams. Both gave an update on the progress being made by each team.

Mr Morgan said the soil at Henfaes is free draining and can suffer during very dry conditions but there had been some rain to break up the long, dry spell and this had been important to crop establishment.

Three of the teams have opted for grass-based leys while two are growing brassicas.

“The bonus of growing grass is that there will be 2.5 acres of grass to graze whereas there will need to be half an acre runback of grass within the brassica finishing crop," said Mr Morgan.

Weaning of the lambs is expected to take place in mid-August. The animals have been wormed twice and treated with a fly dressing.

“Upon weaning lambs will be individually identified with EID tags and weighed. It is expected that the weights at this point will be in the region of 28kg," said Dr Nakielny.

Regular updates of the teams’ progress will be given on www.menterabusnes.co.uk/cyswlltffermio. The winning team will be announced at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair and each team member will be presented with an electronic tablet.