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www.beltex.co.uk
Beltex Sheep SocietyShepherds View,
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Dalhanna EstatesDalhanna Estate is an 8,000-acre hill and upland unit situated near New Cumnock in south Ayrshire and is managed by John Wildman whose responsibilities include a 300-cow suckler herd and a 2,650-ewe flock which share their home with a 20-turbine wind farm.
The closed herd is made up of homebred Salers X Angus cows with the Charolais as the terminal sire, while the flock is split more or less equally between Blackfaces which are pure-bred, and park-type North Country Cheviots whose origins go back to a hirsel of Blackface ewes which were crossed with the NC Cheviot. Replacements are bred from 740 of these ewes which run with NC Cheviot tups, while a further 100 ewe are tupped with the Bluefaced Leicester as an experiment to breed Cheviot Mules, and 500 by Beltex to produce top quality prime lambs. Around 240 acres of first-cut silage is cut and clamped for winter feed.
John usually buys his Beltex tups at the Premier sale in Carlisle. 'I look for a big sheep' he says. 'The first Beltex came from Mary Dunlop's Corstane flock, and more recently I've had tups from James Whiteford, and quite a few from Anne Storey. Alexander Gibson isn't far from here and that was quite handy last year during the FMD outbreak when there were no sales. I went and bought my tups from him - problem solved. Then I picked up a few Beltex tups from a neighbour who sold his flock. The tups seem to have done their job and this year the NCC ewes scanned at 175%.'
Lambing starts around 1st April and takes place outdoors with only a few triplet-bearing ewes housed. 'The Beltex X lambs are very alert and quick on their feet.' Says John. 'That makes all the difference as it's a busy time. The Beltex X lambs are fine. No problem at all'. John aims to finish most of the Beltex X lambs off grass, with the first draw away off their dams in August. Feed hoppers go out in October if it looks like numbers are putting pressure on the grass. Around 150 of the smaller lambs are finished on rape along with the remaining Blackface and NCC wethers.
The Beltex X lambs are mostly sold deadweight through the Farmstock marketing group, Galloway Lamb, to Scotbeef at Stirling, or Dunbia at Preston. In 2007 the first batch of 300 lambs averaged 19.5kg with 70% grading E & U. 'I'm very happy with the Beltex X lambs,' he says. 'They're easily fleshed, weigh well and kill out at good grades.' The majority of the NCC wethers are sold as stores through C & D Mart at Dumfries where John also sells some finished lambs, although deadweight is the preferred option. Most of the Blackface lambs finish at 34kg - 37kg for the lightweight export market. John sees a good future for sheep if this year's prices can become the norm and he is committed to using Beltex for the foreseeable future. He thinks they're doing a good job for him, and no doubt he will be back at the next Premier sale, looking for big, fit Beltex tups to carry on the good work. |
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