TALK to THOMPSONS & ANALYSE to OPTIMISE

With a thriving fencing business, a Focus Farm that has attracted over 35 visits in 2½ years and contracts to plant hedges for countryside management schemes, you would not be blamed for thinking that a sheep enterprise would struggle at Crosby Cleland’s 93acre farm in Saintfield.

This could not be further from the truth and a tour around the farm reveals a well managed, efficiently run and productive sheep business that is presently under expansion and development with a new multi-purpose shed that will house an extra 30 cattle and 160 sheep.

Alan Irwin, the farm manager, tends to the sheep daily – and will also sell you a gate or a fencing post if required! This involves looking after 20-30 Breeding rams, 660 ewes and 115 breeding ewe lambs with over 1050 lambs in 2006. The breeding lines of the flock combine Pure Lleyn, Texel/Lleyn and Charollais/Lleyn with Suffolk and Texel Crosses presently being phased out.

When housed, anytime from 10 to 16 weeks before lambing, the sheep are spread between 3 sheds. They are then further sub-divided post-scanning into batches of ewes expecting triplets, twins or singles. At present 75% of Crosby’s flock have been scanned showing that they are carrying twins or triplets.

Within these subsections, the ewes are separated further depending on a condition score that they have been given post-scanning (this system uses colour coding which is clearly marked on each sheep’s fleece).

This highlights visually at feeding time the concentrate requirement for each sheep. The feeding routine is based on several factors that are assessed, before a feeding plan is made up for each batch of ewes;

1. Condition score
2. Scan results
3. Stage of pregnancy
4. Silage results

Each factor is taken into consideration before decisions are made on the ewe’s requirements, which further confirms Crosby’s great attention to detail and drive for perfection. All records are filed in the Farm Office and are readily available from Joyce.

The techniques used to assess the feeding requirements of the sheep may have altered over time, but for well over 20 years one part of Crosby’s plan for perfection has remained constant, he feeds Thompsons.

Single ewes are fed silage and a hi-energy mineral lick. 2 weeks before lambing ¾ kg of Hi-Lamb Ewe Nuts are introduced. Crosby pointed out the importance of this level of feeding to singles as they may be needed to foster a lamb.

Twins & Triplets are fed Ewelac at housing and up to 4-6 weeks before lambing, depending on body score to each pen, when they are changed on to the 20% Protein Ration Hi-Lamb Ewe Nuts at a rate of 1-1½kg.

At this stage the grass availability is assessed, as well as field conditions, and if deemed suitable the Triplets are let out. Alan and Crosby both agreed that this approach keeps the ewes more active and when combined with the “rocket fuel” effect of the spring grass results in an easier lambing time and gives both the ewes and lambs a boosted vitality.

Ewes with a low condition score are fed a larger quantity of concentrate earlier on in their pregnancy than other batches to ensure that they are built up to a more suitable condition score. Some of these low condition ewes are let out to the grass along with the triplets to help boost ewe energy for lambing and more colostrum/milk availability.

As with every other practice on the farm, lambing time is run with almost regimental precision to ensure it does not become a “soul destroying” experience!

Crosby is quite philosophical about the efforts required at lambing time and compares it to a shop keeper’s busy time before Christmas. “It is a time when the farmer should come into his element and improving the organisation of procedures will go a long way to making it a more enjoyable time of year, as well as achieving more lambs reared to the acrea, hence more profit from the sheep enterprise!”