Like many other farmers this years lambing had two sides to it. Sun on the backs of the ewes and lambs enabled lambs to bask in the sun, rather than drinking/eating to stay warm. This is certainly reflected in our 8 week weights. However the flip side of this has been the paucity of grass, which had not had any real chance to recover from the winter grazing. The ewes have taken quite a knock, and they probably will need particular attention post weaning. Here in the Derbyshire Dales we seem to have missed much of the rain that others have had further west or in the south. Worm count, even after the rain 2 weeks ago remains low, so to date we have not had to worm. At least that is a bonus.
On the breeding front we continue to focus on breeding for greater flock efficiency while also prioritising worm resistance. Only one of the five tups we used last year has Parasite Plus EBV below Top 1%. This is now starting to be reflected in the animals I have the sale. Of the 23 shearlings tups for sale this year 18 carry Top 1% Parasite Plus EBVs. 10 of those also carry Top5% Breed Index and 4 Top 1% Breed Index. I will shortly put up the full list on Stock for Sale. As we are outside the Blue Tongue Restricted Zone, we will have to go to Welshpool for the ram inspection on the 25th, 2 hours rather than 1 hour to Melton Mowbray next week.
We will also have 100 shearlings/gimmers for sale. They are looking well. A bit more rain won’t do them any harm! Remember we don’t feed either tups or gimmers.
Please call me direct if you would like to discuss or visit. I can also provide videos of the tups if required.