Virginia winter-lambing budget

Winter lambing is used on farms where adequate winter feed supplies, experienced labor, and covered facilities for lambing are available. In the Southern Piedmont and Southeastern Virginia, where summer temperatures and humidity are high and the quality of summer pastures is low, winter lambing is considered the best option for market lamb production. Winter lambing occurs during the months of December, January, and February. It is more labor intensive than spring lambing and requires a higher level of management for breeding, lambing, and feeding. The profitability of winter lambing is tied closely to the price of grain and the number of lambs marketed per ewe annually. Winter-born lambs must be weaned at two to two and one-half months of age and fed a high concentrate diet to reach market weight before the precipitous drop in market prices that typically occurs in the late spring.