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On Becoming Chairman of the Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders Association
Angus cross cows Blackfaced ewes and Bluefaced Leicesters would seem like a very probable mixture to find on a livestock farm anywhere in the South West of Scotland, but the mixture of animals at High and Low Airyolland in the Luce Valley looks a bit more exotic than most. The Highland Cattle and Beltex sheep that also graze the patchwork of green fields, rush pasture, moor land and native woodland give the 365 hectare farm a different look altogether. You half expect to meet Tom and Barbra Good as you drive up to the farm but Janet and me are not cut out for the good life. Our children, Lauren 13 Gavin 11 and Caroline 10 have banned us from talking about the S word at the table such is our total absorption in genetics and all things sheep. Like most
peoples departures into pedigree livestock breeding; the flocks of
Bluefaced Leicesters founded in 1979, the Beltex Flock in 1998 and
more recently the small fold of Highlanders in 2005 all started away
as being a bit of a hobby. But as my wife Janet who rear’s all the
spare lambs, keeps all the records, and generally does 51% of all of
the work about the place, while holding down her job as a primary
school teacher, can tell you; flocks of 80 Beltex and 30 Bluefaced
Leicesters are more than just a hobby. The recent addition of the
Highlanders has added yet another layer of paperwork but we both
just love having If all that sounds as if we’re a pair of anoraks I haven’t mentioned our real obsession yet. Without a doubt breeding mule ewe lambs takes precedence over all other aspects of what we do. There are two times in the year when excitement peaks when you’re breeding mules. The first is when the lambs are being born and finally you get to see if that new ram that was purchased with cast iron guarantees from silver tongued Yorkshire men can walk the walk or not. This can sometimes produce a negative peak, as the spin doctors would say, but nevertheless the day I stop looking forward to seeing those newborn lambs struggling to get to their feet is the day I’ll apply for a council house. The second peak of excitement, and it’s quite closely linked to the first, is when the ewe lambs are prepared and taken to market. Is there a bonnier sight than a well presented pen of mule ewe lambs? I don’t think so. There are 25 score of Blackfaced ewes crossed with the Bluefaced Leicester and the 60 Angus cross suckler cows are crossed with the Limousine bull to calve in the Spring. The emphasise is now on low input low output as far as the suckler cows are concerned and as much of the farm as we can has been entered into stewardship of one kind or another. An application is being made this year to the Rural Stewardship Scheme to grow our silage in a bird friendly manner especially for Corn Crakes. I can just remember as a boy in short trousers hearing a Corn Crake in a field of oats. If they do come back to breed here it will be nice to have something on the farm that we don’t need to worry about keeping their mouths right. When I’m off duty I continue my 40 year quest to catch that illusive 20 pound Salmon that hopefully waits for me in the River Luce which flows along one side of the Farm. I would quite like to down that pheasant that is so high it lookes like a Starling, the one I’m aiming at that is. And I would also quite like to Ski down a blue run without falling on my backside. Maybe this year. Being involved with the Bluefaced Leicesters for the last 27 years has been a source of great pleasure in terms of the people you meet and the great friendships that are formed. It’s always great to meet up again after lambing time and hear the tales of Bluefaced Leicesters with nine inch lugs that sadly never took a cough and that mule with perfect markings a beautiful skin and very disappointing testicles. I’m up for it again this year See you at Scotsheep. |
the hairy girls about the place.