Dear Lamb Customer,. . . .

Millroad · #1 08/21/12, 08:31 PM

Thanks for buying a whole or half lamb from us! Some of you were great customers and are moving to the top of the list for next year. You responded to my emails, you paid me on time, you gave instructions to the processor without any intervention on my part, and you picked up your lamb without making things into a headache for me. I LOVE YOU!!

Some tips for the rest of you:
1. Please respond when I ask you for your phone number for the processor. They really do need to talk to you about the cuts you want, unless you want to try to shove the whole carcass into your Sub-Zero.
2. I don't need to hear about your financial woes as you sit down to write me a check. You have a freshly-renovated house and a brand-new car. I have a clunker, a sub-rental kitchen, and a bunch of sheep electronet. I'm not really getting rich off this lamb you're buying.
3. Do I really need to email you the total again? And the number for the processor? You lost my previous email? (Sigh)
4. No. I'm not going to email you the totals on the checks you wrote - I frickin' busy and I already deposited them or gave them to the processor FOR YOU. They'll come through on your bank statement soon enough.

And most importantly.. . .
5. Please don't say "Poor lambies" as you write me out the check! GAH!

Anyone have anything to add?

PNP Katahdins · #2 08/21/12, 11:21 PM

6. Please have enough funds available to cover the check if you can't pay cash. I need to buy feed, which is going up in price more than your lamb or processing fees did.

7. Trust me, my time is worth as much to me as yours is to you.

8. Do you say, "poor steers" when you buy a hamburger? I didn't think so.

Peg

LibertyWool · #3 08/22/12, 07:56 AM

Tips for producers, Cash is king. I will only take a check from close friends or people I really trust. Other than that, pay up front. There is an ATM 5 miles down the road, if they need it....

Also, I prefer to deal with people that will raise them from weaning and then take them to the butcher themselves. No whining about poor lamb, instead they are saying "Oh he looks nice and big"....

Millroad · #4 08/22/12, 09:23 AM

All of my customers are friends, that is the sad thing! That is why I am having some of these problems. I think I prefer to deal with well-known acquaintances. They don't seem to require the level of rear-end wiping that some of my friends do.

J.T.M. · #5 08/22/12, 11:23 AM

You lamb for the table people have it easy .......try selling replacements .

Millroad · #6 08/22/12, 11:36 AM

Replacements?

J.T.M. · #7 08/22/12, 11:40 AM

replacements = breeding stock

LibertyWool · #8 08/22/12, 02:11 PM

I sell a few replacements, but not many. Mostly to spinner flocks, so they want very friendly sheep. I'm happy when that happens. I'll sometimes hold a good lamb waiting for the right buyer, it generally works out.

J.T.M. · #9 08/22/12, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LibertyWool

I sell a few replacements, but not many. Mostly to spinner flocks, so they want very friendly sheep. I'm happy when that happens. I'll sometimes hold a good lamb waiting for the right buyer, it generally works out.

I make friendly sheep also ... Triplet born Jan. 2012

I am so burned out on people , every year its the same ol thing - comparing apples to oranges .Example : Quads born Jan. 8 2012

and her sister

Combined with the two rams ( no picture ) thats over 450 lbs of lamb on pasture ...from one ewe ... in less then 8 months ...in a drought ... I got to sit there and politely listen while they tell me how much better kimm suffolks lambs look ............

But it gets worse .... Ram buyers uggggggggggg .....

**bergere** · #10 08/23/12, 08:30 AM

Selling breeding stock wasn't bad at first.
Lambs pretty much sold themselves.

Then the last couple of years before the move....
Did have one lady, come back at me, 5 years after she bought some of my sheep. I told her not to feed rich alfalfa and sweet feed to Rams and wethers, did she listen.... no....
So the outstanding Ram I sold her, ended up with stones and she had to have the Vet out.
Is like... people... once you take the sheep from my farm, I have no control over what you do.
Blaming me for your care of the animal, isn't going to work.

I went out of my way to work with people,,, but some people.....

Or the Mexican's wanting me to sell them a $1,000.00 breed stock ewe.....for... get this.. $50.00 and they wanted to slaughter on my place.
Luckily I still had a big old dog back then and after that, I locked my gate when I wasn't home and at night.
Found out from a friend down the hill from me, same people decided to steal some of her breeding stock ewes to eat.

The last one I had, was doing a favor for a friend. I let her use my place as a Way station, before the sheep where shipped. I just fed them for her. Well her buyer, kept telling me I stole her lambs, because they were such out standing quality. Ah... no.
She raised a big stink about her "lambs", it got to the point I told her she can talk to a lawyer.
Found out, she didn't ask her hubby if she could buy my friends sheep, so she was trying to pin some kind of blame on someone other than herself.... which was me.
That was really annoying.

Other than those, most of the buyers at the time, were good people, willing to learn if they didn't know anything.
For the higher priced animals, always recommend doing a Vet check.

Have sold heritage chickens, ducks, few horses. Last couple of years, sold a few horses...
I have to say, it used to be, you would get 1 nutter out of 10, when looking to buy an animal. So it wasn't too bad.
Now it seems like you have 8 nutters out of 10. Doesn't make it pleasant to sell animals any more.

J.T.M. · #11 08/23/12, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bergere

Selling breeding stock wasn't bad at first.
Lambs pretty much sold themselves.

Then the last couple of years before the move....
Did have one lady, come back at me, 5 years after she bought some of my sheep. I told her not to feed rich alfalfa and sweet feed to Rams and wethers, did she listen.... no....
So the outstanding Ram I sold her, ended up with stones and she had to have the Vet out.
Is like... people... once you take the sheep from my farm, I have no control over what you do.
Blaming me for your care of the animal, isn't going to work.

I went out of my way to work with people,,, but some people.....

Or the Mexican's wanting me to sell them a $1,000.00 breed stock ewe.....for... get this.. $50.00 and they wanted to slaughter on my place.
Luckily I still had a big old dog back then and after that, I locked my gate when I wasn't home and at night.
Found out from a friend down the hill from me, same people decided to steal some of her breeding stock ewes to eat.

The last one I had, was doing a favor for a friend. I let her use my place as a Way station, before the sheep where shipped. I just fed them for her. Well her buyer, kept telling me I stole her lambs, because they were such out standing quality. Ah... no.
She raised a big stink about her "lambs", it got to the point I told her she can talk to a lawyer.
Found out, she didn't ask her hubby if she could buy my friends sheep, so she was trying to pin some kind of blame on someone other than herself.... which was me.
That was really annoying.

Other than those, most of the buyers at the time, were good people, willing to learn if they didn't know anything.
For the higher priced animals, always recommend doing a Vet check.

Have sold heritage chickens, ducks, few horses. Last couple of years, sold a few horses...
I have to say, it used to be, you would get 1 nutter out of 10, when looking to buy an animal. So it wasn't too bad.
Now it seems like you have 8 nutters out of 10. Doesn't make it pleasant to sell animals any more.

Oh God... someone who understands .^^^^^^^^
I had just sold a ewe with lambs to people in South Dakota ,Explaned to them that she has never had grain and how to ease her into it if they were to go that route , the hubbie said they had "high powered alfalfa " ,I said that would be perfect .Well , the farmer up the road told them that it is impossible for her to feed 3 lambs ,he then suggested corn . They took her hay out , put in a 5 gal. bucket of corn . you can guess the rest ... at least they did'nt demand a refund .
Ram buyers are the worse . They expect him to exsist 10 months of the year on hay with nutrient value of cardboard ,given water when ever they think about it , in a 16 x 16 pen with a cloud of flies hovering over it ... and if he doesn't impregnate 50 ewes with quads in a weeks time you sold them a junk ram and demand some sort of refund . Im getting out . enough is enough

RamblinRoseRanc · #12 08/23/12, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Millroad

Thanks for buying a whole or half lamb from us! Some of you were great customers and are moving to the top of the list for next year. You responded to my emails, you paid me on time, you gave instructions to the processor without any intervention on my part, and you picked up your lamb without making things into a headache for me. I LOVE YOU!!

Some tips for the rest of you:
1. Please respond when I ask you for your phone number for the processor. They really do need to talk to you about the cuts you want, unless you want to try to shove the whole carcass into your Sub-Zero.
2. I don't need to hear about your financial woes as you sit down to write me a check. You have a freshly-renovated house and a brand-new car. I have a clunker, a sub-rental kitchen, and a bunch of sheep electronet. I'm not really getting rich off this lamb you're buying.
3. Do I really need to email you the total again? And the number for the processor? You lost my previous email? (Sigh)
4. No. I'm not going to email you the totals on the checks you wrote - I frickin' busy and I already deposited them or gave them to the processor FOR YOU. They'll come through on your bank statement soon enough.

And most importantly.. . .
5. Please don't say "Poor lambies" as you write me out the check! GAH!

Anyone have anything to add?

SO frickin' busy, in fact, that I don't have time to put all the words in my sentences!

I've never sold sheep but I have run across those type buyers. I agree, it's easier to say "You danged fruitbat! Get offa my property!" if they aren't your friends.

ONThorsegirl · #13 08/24/12, 11:40 AM

Another good one:

If you ask for the entire lamb to deboned...don't come bit**ing at us after you step on your bathroom scales and say, "I think we are missing a bag of meat" Yet you don't even realize that bone weighs something!!! And just because you want it out, doesn't mean we aren't charging you for it!!! ...you pay for the whole lambs, even if you asked to take the bones out!!

PEOPLE!!!!

-Melissa