Tups are out working over the May lambing Lleyn flock, and we removed rams from the pure Texels before the end of their second cycle as they were pretty quiet.

We are using a lot of our own ram lambs in the stud Lleyn flock again as well as one fresh ram. Using many ram lambs for one season keeps plenty of diversity going – it’s a bit like the five-family approach but gives more flexibility at the expense of a more complicated mating plan.

Lamb sales continue to go well, with prices holding firm and numbers getting well through. I think by Christmas we’ll be down to a handful of the usual tailenders. Lambs have done well on grass despite a horribly wet autumn. We’ve had 60% of our rainfall in a wet year since the beginning of September. The total for the year is sitting at 52in and it’s pouring down again!

Debbie’s parents moved from Galloway to East Yorkshire to get away from the rain – so far, Peter has measured 48" in a 28” annual rainfall area. He says he’s feeling right at home, though, now he’s sort of retired.

Ram lambs from both Lleyn and Texel flocks got a worm drench pre-weaning when group dung samples suggested worm treatment was required. Since then, they have been left to get on with things while monitoring faecal egg counts (FECs) now and again and keeping an eye on their appearance. Later in the autumn, we forced a worm challenge on them by grazing tightly into fields that had plenty of sheep earlier in the year.

It took about eight weeks to get to 300 eggs per gram (epg) from a mob-sample within the groups – a level at which we can take individual samples that will give a meaningful range of results. This lets us know which sheep can deal better with a worm challenge.

The Texel group was looking off-form by October with egg counts just high enough to sample. Sampling day requires the lambs to be held in a pen, a supply of sealable plastic bags with labels, a good supply of latex gloves, and plenty of patience. We watch for the tell-tale sign of tail-wagging, then try to swoop in to catch whatever is produced under the tail (preferably before it hits the ground); catch the lamb to read the tag number; and get him out the gate. Meantime, the sample is bagged and tagged.

Two or three of us aim to get at least 90% of the group in about a couple of hours. Usually, we let them rest for a spell over lunchtime, and when they are disturbed again – any that have evaded us previously manage to squeeze something out. Some 76 Texels averaged 380 Strongyle epg. At the top end, two lambs (half-brothers) counted more than 1000 epg, and at the other end of the scale 28 counted below what would be considered necessary to drench.

The 94 Lleyns didn’t look so wormy but averaged 475 epg, with a high of 1200 and a similar number at the tail end.

We have now done more than 1000 individual samples over the last 12 years, and every time we do there is a similar pattern of results. There are a third of the lambs responsible for the bulk of the pasture contamination, and a third with very low levels of worm eggs and often none at all.

There is a reasonable genetic aspect – so we can breed for lower worm burdens, and some of our ram clients think they are using less drenching overall. This becomes quite important if drench resistance appears on the farm.

This individual FEC method is the international ‘gold standard’ for measuring worm infection, second only to a postmortem analysis – which has limited use in a breeding programme as by the time you find a good one, you can’t do much with it. It’s not without problems, however, and along with a group of Lleyn breeders we have been exploring an alternative blood test to measure the lamb’s immune response to a worm challenge. The group now has the 10,000 results from both tests and we have a good level of confidence in the EBVs they are producing.

I met a Texel breeder in New Zealand years ago who told me: “If a trait is important to you, and you don’t do something about it, you are just saying it’s OK to live with it.” All this worm work is a bit experimental, but we are at least doing something.

In the same measure, we have joined up with Innovis and some other breeders in a Defra-funded project to measure methane production from sheep. This week, we have spent two days giving ewe hoggs 50 minutes each in individually sealed chambers that look like a row of tumble driers on an Ifor Williams trailer.

The difference in methane level in the chamber is measured by Sheep-Fart Liz on a device that was designed to measure gas levels down mines. Results vary a little – a few by a lot. We don’t know where this will lead, but one outcome we hope for is to get genomics into our worm resistance work. And if we could add a better selection accuracy to ewe longevity and lamb survival, we’d really start to make a difference to flock profitability – and our carbon footprint.

We are looking forward to getting the children home from their studies for Christmas. The vet student was back for a few days’ revision recently – and to get warmed up and fed. What she is doing looks really complicated and reads like a foreign language. Great respect for all vets who made it through those exams! The agricultural student is one of only four Scots on a 100-place course at Newcastle. He has enjoyed his first term immensely but has admitted it has been more taxing on his liver than his brain so far!

The Christmas list is looking a lot like ‘new waterproofs’ again. It’s been that kind of a year. I hope you get what you wish for too.