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Beltex Sheep Society

Shepherds View,
Barras,
Kirkby Stephen,
Cumbria CA17 4ES

telephone+44 (0)17683 41124
email info@beltex.co.uk
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Irish Beltex Sheep Breeders Club /

Carcase Competition 2008

Beltex – The Shape of Things to Come for the sheep farmer

click on images to enlarge

Beltex carcases
on the hook

Beltex Cross
carcases on the hook

1st prize pair of commercial
breeders lambs from
John Armstrong, Pomeroy

top prize
individual carcases

Alfie Murray with Maurice
Reynolds, Lamb Sales
Manager at Linden Foods
and Terry White from LMC
(judge) with the Champion
and Reserve Champion
individual carcases

William Halliday with
Maurice Reynolds, Linden Foods,
Terry White, LMC (judge)
and his 3rd placed commercial
breeders lambs

Getting more money from their lambs will be the aim of sheep farmers in the province, at a time when the increased costs of feedstuff, fertilizer and fuel is squeezing the pockets tighter than ever before.

With this in mind, producers should take note of the success of the Carcase Competition held by the Irish Beltex Sheep Breeders Club at Linden Foods, Dungannon, where maximum killing-out percentages were the order of the day for both pedigree and commercial breeders alike.

This was the first carcase competition held by the club for some years and proved to be a very successful event - almost 80% of the lambs presented graded E’s and U’s, gaining very attractive bonuses on the day, much to the delight of the farmers present. The typical traits of the breed in the double-muscled hindquarters, coupled with fine bones, was very evident to the eye, and the carcases had well-fleshed legs, good eye muscle and a long loin, very desirable to both the home and export market alike, and proving that the medium-sized Beltex as a terminal sire can pack a lot of meat into their progeny. No longer do producers have to wait until their lambs are 42+ kgs to get a return on their investment

Results of the competition were as follows:

Champion Individual Carcase (£75):
Alfie Murray with a Beltex cross-Beltex cross lamb which graded E3, weighing 38kgs live, 22.5kgs dead with a kill-out of 59.3%

Reserve Champion Individual Carcase (£50):
Alfie Murray

Pedigree Breeders Class - Pairs
1st and £100: Alfie Murray, Ballygowan - crossbred lambs;
2nd and £50: Alfie Murray, Ballygowan - pedigree lambs;
3rd and £25: S & R Clarke, Boardmills - crossbred lambs

Commercial Breeders Class - Pairs
1st and £100: John Armstrong, Loughmallon Road, Pomeroy;
2nd and £50: Roy Mayers, Ballyreagh, Tempo;
3rd and £25: William Halliday, Ballynafoy Road, Annaclone

Kill-out percentages for some of the lambs presented were as follows:

Alfie Murray – 59.3% with liveweight 38kgs, deadweight 22.5kgs;
Michael McDermott, Crockanboy Road, Omagh – 59.3% with liveweight 40.5kgs, deadweight 24kgs;
S&R Clarke – 58.2% with liveweight 37.5kgs, deadweight 21.8kgs;
S&R Clarke – 55.8% with liveweight 37.5kgs, deadweight 20.9kgs;
Alfie Murray – 53.3% with liveweight 38.5kgs, deadweight 20.5kgs;
William Halliday – 51.6% with liveweight 44kgs, deadweight 22.7kgs
Roy Mayers – 51.5% with liveweight 41.5kgs, deadweight 21.4kgs;

The Irish Beltex Sheep Breeders Club would like to thank most sincerely the sponsors of the carcase competition – Beltex Sheep Society, Linden Foods and Innovis; all the commercial and pedigree breeders for coming along and taking part in what is hoped to be an annual event in the club’s calendar; the judge Mr Andrew White from LMC, and those in Linden Foods who assisted in any way to make the competition such a success.