At Culland Hall Farm, we always start with the premise that we are looking to breed an animal that meets the requirements of the demanding commercial farmer – a productive, efficient sheep with a naturally low carbon footprint. We lamb on average 300 ewes each year.
Our philosophy is grounded in the belief that we can utilise technology to help us to constantly improve genetics that in turn will enhance the profitability of our livestock enterprise.
- We have been Performance Recording for over 20 years. Identifying the heritability of genetics and its role in enhancing profitability is a never ending but increasingly rewarding process.
- Research. For instance – immunoglobulin A, its heritability, and relationships to intestinal worm resistance in sheep. Research has shown that certain identifiable Lleyn sheep have c.45% heritability resistance to intestinal worms. Signet now has sufficient data to have specific Parasite Plus EBVs.
- Each year we offer rams carrying both high Breed and Parasite Plus EBVs. (See our Stock for Sale)
- Genomics. Costs are falling – opening a whole new universe.
- Regenerative farming – incorporating the above into all aspects of our farming business.
I often say to people that genetics guarantees nothing. However, it shortens the odds of getting it right. A successful business must constantly seek ways of shortening the odds.
We seek to breed animals that perform on a low maintenance regenerative grass system. We have been actively Performance Recording for over 20 years and Signet is an important part of the tool kit.
For over 10 years and as a founder member of the Performance Recorded Lleyn Group, we have been researching the heritability of worm resistance in sheep. Various dead ends along the way, have morphed into the analysis of Immunoglobulin A via blood serum analysis. There is now hard evidence that there is a very high (c.45%) heritability of resistance to the strongyle worm in certain individual sheep. This is clearly an important factor when considering ram purchases. Signet last year published Parasite Plus EBVs to guide farmers looking to purchase tups carrying these genes. This clearly has significant implications for the sheep industry. Furthermore, as part of additional research that we have done as part of Breed for Change there is also clear evidence that worm resistance and methane output are closely related. Genomics will enable further value enhancing research.
In addition to screening for worm resistance, a combination of closely monitored performance recorded EBVs such Maternal, Scan weights, Muscle depth, Fat, Prolificacy are actively incorporated into the selection process. We use Border Software’s “Farm IT” which makes this job straight forward. The dairy and beef sectors would never buy bulls without this information. For sheep with many more data points, this makes even more sense. In NZ over 90% of all rams are Performance Recorded. In the UK only a small minority of rams are sold with EBVs.
Lambing is indoors, primarily for our convenience as everything is recorded and double tagged at birth. It also builds in a little flexibility if spring weather is particularly adverse. The Lleyn lambs are tough and very resilient, being very quick to get to their feet and feed immediately after lambing. They have a reputation for being able to cope with outdoor lambing even in the most difficult weather.
We have around 100 well grown shearlings for sale this year. At the beginning of the season we also had 23 shearling tups coming forward with both high breed EBVs and high Parasite Plus EBVs. Everything is grass fed only. See Breeding Stock For Sale above.
Enquiries very welcome.