A stratified sheep system is often deemed old fashioned, but there’s not much to beat a Blackie ewe used to breed Scotch Mule females which crossed to a Suffolk or a Texel will result in the best commercial progeny that easily finish off grass to 44kg within 12 weeks.
Such traditional methods which rely on home-bred Blackface ewes at the top of the hill, with half crossed to the Bluefaced Leicester to breed Mules and the remainder to produce replacements, have been the backbone of the UK sheep industry for generations when the progeny make for such prolific, milky, motherly females.
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Add in the Suffolk and the Texel as a terminal sire over the Scotch Mule to breed easy fleshing finishing lambs or breeding females for further down the hill or to sell, and not only are input costs kept at a minimum but production is maximised. Furthermore, with most lambs sold within 12 weeks and certainly by the turn of the year, levels of efficiency and productivity are maximised with emissions kept to a minimum.
It’s a system that has been paying handsome dividends for the Campbell family from Glenrath and East Happrew, for years, to such an extent that they now run 4000 Scotch Mule ewes.
“There is nothing easier managed or more profitable than a Scotch Mule when you think they scan at 200% plus and will easily leave a 175-180% lamb crop to sell,” said Ian Campbell.
“Sheep have got to be easy managed when you’ve got big numbers and that’s where the Mule scores as she can easily rear two lambs that will finish off grass. We’ve got Mules that can rear triplets although we do try to get most of the triplets married up with single rearing ewes.”
Such is the ability of the Mule to produce milk off grass that the Campbells aim to have a large bulk of their lambs finished straight off their mothers without creep feed before huge numbers hit the market. By mid August, a large percentage of the lowland lambs have been sold straight off grass.
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“The first lambs away are always the most profitable,” he said, adding that all lambs are sold off the farm as soon as possible, thereby maximising the number of breeding females that can kept on farm.
“There are no birthday parties here – a lamb that is still here by the turn of the year, is taking the place of the breeding ewe, so all lambs are off the farm finished or sold as breeding females as early as possible.”
Easy fed and easy kept, the 4000 Mule ewes which are run on several units, are housed from scanning onwards. Split according to the number of lambs they are carrying between twins, singles and triples, they are fed a total mixed ration comprising home-grown silage, minerals and up to 0.5lb of soya per head depending on their scanning results. Only the triplet-bearing ewes receive concentrates.
Housing from scanning onwards might appear more work, but it saves the grass for when the ewes and their young lambs are transported out of the shed once they’re up and suckled.
With most of the Mules crossed to clean, silky haired home-bred Suffolk rams, the Campbells have built up a strong demand for their Suffolk cross Mule ewe lambs of which in excess of 2000 are sold privately to four regular buyers in the south of England. Others go deadweight at 19-21kgs, while the male lambs are sold straight off grass at 12-14weeks of age.
It’s a similar situation with the Mules that are crossed to home-bred Texel rams, albeit that the growth in demand at present is more towards the Suffolk cross Mule female.
The real beauty of the Campbell’s system is that their enterprise relies on home-bred sheep throughout, starting with 7000 Blackface ewes, used to breed 4000 Mules when tupped with tup lambs from their Happrew and Glenrath Bluefaced Leicester flocks.
They also run their own registered and unregistered Suffolks with Amy’s husband, Steven Renwick breeding Texels from his Craig Douglas flock.
Bluefaced Leicesters
Colin and Jacqui Campbell and daughters Emma, Nicky and Rachel run the pedigree Blues at Easter Happrew which is now home to 35 pedigree ewes.
The flock which originally established in the 1980s by Colin, produces tup lambs to use on the crossing Blackface ewes at Easter Happrew, which are then sold the following year as shearlings at Kelso and Stirling. In recent years, a few tup lambs have also been sold at Hawes.
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Up to 1000 Blackies are kept at Easter Happrew, of which 450 are crossed to the Blue to produce home-bred Mule females.
“Scotch Mules are great milking ewes. They scan at 200% plus and they rear triplets no bother. We’ve got a field of about 50 Mules each running with three lambs,” said Colin.
At this time of year, it is nevertheless their pedigree Blues that take precedence when Kelso Ram Sales are just around the corner. It’s a breed which Emma has a particular passion for too.
“Our Blues are easy managed,” she said. “We do flush a few and AI all of the females and they’ll scan at about 200% for lambing inside in March. We’re looking to breed quality sheep with good bodies, skins and character and Blues that will breed colour in their lambs.”
With all the Scotch Mule female lambs retained as replacements or finished, photographs are taken of them to show potential customers the colours their sires – sold the following year as shearling rams at Kelso – breed.
With huge amounts of money riding on the colour of the resultant Mule ewe lambs produced from individual Bluefaced rams, it is a marketing ploy which is bearing fruit. Two years ago, Easter Happrew sold nine shearlings at Kelso, to a top of £5000 to average £2166.67, while last year’s batch cashed in at £1641.67, from top of £3800.
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While some of the best tup lambs are sold at Hawes, stock rams are also purchased there and in recent years include a H2 Carry House, purchased for £15,000 at Hawes, in partnership with Colin’s mother-in-law, Obie Sharp, Newbiggin Walls; James Herdman, Edlingham Newtown and Bill Hedley, and a £6500 Firth bought at Carlisle in partnership with Amy at Glenrath.
This year, most of the shearlings from Easter Happrew and Glenrath for Kelso are sons of the £65,000 record priced Riddings, a tup bought as a lamb at Hawes in 2021 in partnership with Malcolm Thornborrow and Sons, Gary and Craig and Obie Sharp.
Perhaps one of the best for this year though, is a shearling son of a £7000 Midlock tup, that stood first at Peebles and Biggar Shows, earlier in the summer.
Amy’s up and coming Glenrath flock is also making its presence felt selling tup lambs at Carlisle and Hawes. One of her most memorable moments was in 2018 – selling for the second time at Carlisle – when she sold a lamb by K1 Drimsynie that was placed champion in the pre-sale and went on to sell for £4500, with another Glenrath lamb making the exact same price that day. They've also sold to a top of £6000 at Hawes for a son of an M2 Hewgill.
Craig Douglas Texels
Glenrath where Steven and Amy live, and further up the hill at Langhaugh and Manorhead Farms, are the home of the bulk of the 7000 Blackface ewes.
Steven’s Craig Douglas Texel flock – established 20 years ago at his home farm at Blackhouse, Yarrow – is also kept at Glenrath.
“I always wanted to get into a different breed and followed Texels for a few years before deciding they were the breed for me,” said Steven who built up his 30 ewe flock over the years from individual gimmer purchases at in-lamb sales mainly from Ettrick and one from Watchknowe which went on to win the Highland in 2008.
“It soon became clear after a few years of working with Texels, that they are a breed that is very easy fleshed off grass whether that be the Texel ewe maintaining her condition in the winter months or the way the lambs thrive when turned out to grass in the spring.”
He added that he looks to breed sheep of any breed with the same characteristics.
"They've got to be big with a wide back, be very mobile, have plenty character and good hair for milking ability in the females.
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“I do flush a few of the best females every year but tend to select older proven females and every Texel ewe has to carry a lamb.”
Steven bought a half share in £52,000 Midlock Express the top priced shearling last year in partnership with the Dunlops at Elmscleugh and although early days, he is confident the tup will have a lasting effect on the flock like previous purchases Haddo Whiskey Galore, Sportsmans Unbeatable, Sportsmans Cannonball and Knock Bantastic.
“The aim is for every Texel tup lamb born to have the traits to grow into a good, sound sellable shearling, with plenty breed character, so that a few selected off each year to sell as lambs,” he said.
Steven's keen eye for the job is coming up with the goods too with the flock having sold shearlings to a top of £10,000 and £9000 to average just shy of £3000 – twice at Kelso. He's also sold lambs to £10,000 at Lanark, in 2020.
This year his annual consignment of 10 strong shearlings for Ring 7 at Kelso, are mostly sired by the 6000gns Ettrick Eastern Promise.
Suffolks
Glenrath also has unregistered and registered Suffolks for sale with daughter Lorna selling for the first time at Kelso with entries from her MV accredited Lornajane flock, based at Kirklawhill.
She won’t have too long to worry about her sheep which are catalogued No 4 in Ring 10, while the family’s unregistered Suffolks that regularly produce one of the highest averages, having sold to £3600, are sold later in the day in Ring 14.
Like the Bluefaced Leicester and Texel flocks, all Suffolk ram lambs are used as lambs on the Mules thereby reducing the need for large numbers of bought in stock rams.
All going well, a naturally fleshing stock ram boasting silky hair is purchased every other year, to serve the ewes for lambing in March. One of the most influential stock ram in recent years was a £9000 Scrogton purchased at Carlisle in 2020.
The second Friday in September is always a busy day for the Campbells at Kelso, so, whether you’re on the look out for a Bluefaced Leicester, Texel or Suffolk, you know where to find them and at least you know they’ve been used as lambs the previous year too.
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FARM
Farms: Glenrath has been owned by the Campbell family for 62 years, with the business now comprising several farms It now totals some 15,000acres most of which is in Peebleshire and rises from 600-2950ft above sea level. The bulk of the ground, 11,000acres is dry, rocky hill ground, although there are 4000 lowground acres of which most is ploughable.
Livestock: 11,000 breeding ewes comprising 7000 Blackface and 4000 home-bred Mules with smaller pedigree flocks of Bluefaced Leicesters, Texels and Suffolks. The business is also home to Glenrath Eggs which supplies thousands of eggs on a daily basis to supermarkets up and down the country and a 500-cow suckler herd.
Family farm: Ian and Agnes Campbell manage the farms with Colin and Jackie based at Easter Happrew and Steven and Amy at Glenrath. They also employ several full-time staff to include Ross Steveson, Neil Raeburn and Davie Wallace who between them have worked for more than 60 years for the Campbells.
Reduced carbon emissions: Emissions have been significantly reduced across the business by relying on home-grown feeds as much as possible. They also analyse all forages and supply necessary protein as soya as opposed to bought in concentrates. Hen manure from the poultry units is used to fertilise all fields and rape/kale is direct drilled into soils to finish Blackface wedder lambs on. They no longer rely on a plough for re-seeding fields and instead direct drill with more dependency on clovers.
On the spot with Ian Campbell
Biggest achievement? Top average for Suffolks at Kelso in 2002.
Best investment? The next generation.
What is the future for sheep farming? It is important to get young people involved in the industry, to keep the hills alive with sheep which in turn produce sustainable meat and importantly we have to work with QMS and NSA to market lamb as a tasty and affordable meal.
How do the Campbells relax/take a break? Farming and breeding tups is our hobby.
Hill sheep farms may provide the ideal ground to plant thousands of trees and lock up much of industry’s polluting carbon emissions but introduce large swathes of forestry and the UK’s unique stratified sheep system and the vibrant rural communities it supports, are lost forever.
It’s a policy which the Campbells are strongly against when such farms could provide valuable ground for new entrants desperate to get a step on the ladder into sheep farming which can be one of the most profitable sectors when limited capital investment is required. Sheep farming in such areas also prevents green washing and more importantly, helps biodiversity whilst also maintaining the natural scenic beauty of the countryside and rural communities.
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“There are young people desperate to get into farming and this is one way of enabling them, instead of blanket forestry planting which does nothing for local wildlife or biodiversity,” said Ian.
“As farmers we have to support our local communities, local auction marts, abattoirs and shows and sales which provide a great social and much needed network for neighbours and farming families. If we all sell our sheep privately or sell online, we risk the chance of losing everything. Local farming communities are so important for people’s financial, social and mental well being,” Ian concluded.
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