Highland Valais Blacknose Scotland in US and NZ

For Raymond Irvine and Jenni McAllister, the purchase of a few Valais Blacknose sheep from breeders high up in the Swiss Alps, has done just that, while also allowing them to travel throughout much of breed’s native homeland of Switzerland.

In more recent years, they have also made several trips throughout the US and down under to set up their own flocks to meet a growing demand for this lovable hill sheep breed.

First embryo lambs born in the States

Raymond and Jenni have built up such a reputation for their sheep that they will be crossing The Pond again in September, to judge at the breed’s National Show in Iowa.

While both are equally committed to this hardy hill breed, initially it was Jenni who instigated the purchase of these charismatic black and white sheep, as a diversion from the harsh reality of hill farming.

The first few were imported in 2014, purely as hobby and now, almost 10 years later, Raymond and Jenni are loving life with Valais sheep not only at their home farm just outside Tomintoul, but also on their partnership units in New Zealand and America.

“Valais sheep have kept us going over the past 10 years and in ways, they have allowed us to step into another world, as people everywhere just love them and are willing to pay huge amounts of money for them,” said Raymond.

“We never bought them to make money from them. Initially they were a bit of fun, but such is the demand, we have been able to develop a business from them when people are desperate to buy Valais sheep.

"We really couldn’t believe our luck when we discovered a breeder in England had imported some just months before we had, and was selling wedder lambs for £2000, ewes at £4000 and tups at £10,000. There was a package deal where you could buy four ewes and a tup for £25,000, which we always thought was crazy but that’s what people were willing to pay for them.”

Obviously values have come down somewhat since then, but there remains a huge market for the best quality sheep with individuals still willing to pay good four-figure prices for a single female of show winning potential.

The breed has also just taken off in America, but with the market only opening up to embryos earlier this year, first cross wedder lambs were making $2500 and semen was selling for $500 per dose.

Raymond and Jenni on one of their many ventures to Switzerland

While many see Raymond as the front man for the breed, it’s Jenni who takes most of the credit for importing the first Valais into Scotland. It was also Jenni, an IT specialist in Edinburgh at the time, who looked into developing new markets throughout the UK and further afield for Valais Blacknose. As a result, such is the popularity of the breed that the Valais Blacknose Society in the UK boasts more than 800 members with other associations recently established in the US and New Zealand.

“They’re such placid and inquisitive sheep and so easy to work with,” said Jenni “They’re full of character and great for kids. They’re a huge tourist attraction too.

“Last year was the first year there were competitive classes for the breed at the Highland Show, and the Valais Blacknose lines were packed out – not just on show day, but for the full four days,” added Jenni.

Sourcing sheep to import was nevertheless a huge challenge when there was little if any information to be found on the internet. However, when the couple discovered the breed’s National Ram Show was being staged in Switzerland in March in 2014, they ventured out in a bid to purchase a few.

That was when they were first stepped into the world of Narnia, as the best of the Valais Blacknose sheep were treated like pets.

“We had to hire a translator for our first trip when we travelled with top breeders from the mountains down to the National Ram Show at Widdermarkt. It was like a fantasy journey as the winning sheep are treated more like pets or one of the family. They were in the bus with us, and the champion winners actually came into the restaurant with us,” Jenni said.

Raymond and Jenni with the Hulk - sire of most of their flock ewes

Initially, the couple imported 13 Valais Blacknose to include King Kong, a ram that cost €500 but one which is undoubtedly the backbone of the breed in the UK, having sired many of the top winners at shows and sales.

Back home, as soon as Jenni posted photographs of the Valais on Facebook, they were inundated with messages from people throughout the world looking to buy. Within a couple of weeks, their Valais Blacknose Sheep Scotland page had 70,000 followers.

Add in TV programmes about the sheep on Landward and This Farming Life, and Raymond and Jenni have rocketed to TV farming fame with their Highland Valais flock. Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth even requested a meeting with the sheep at Turriff Show!

And of course the chance of a ‘Selfie with Elfie’ – their pet lamb which prefers to be with people more than her flockmates, – at last year’s Highland Show, proved a marketing phenomenon.

Raymond added: “The interest in Valais Blacknose is surreal! We once had two bus loads of Americans who turned up at the farm completely out of the blue desperate to see the sheep, and another who drove up all the way from Liverpool to buy a couple of wedder lambs to take home in the back seat of his mini!”

With the Swiss having having shut down all live exports of Valais Blacknose at the end of 2014, sourcing new bloodlines is nevertheless a challenge. However, by exporting embryos over to New Zealand to set up a flock in partnership with Wendy Arzt, they have been able to supply breeders with their Highland genetics down under, and export embryos from those sheep to the United States where they also now have a flock.

The couple has also exported sheep to Sweden and Hungary, which being in the EU have to be scrapie genotyped ARR/ARR.

Embryos for exporting to the US also have to be of type 1 for Scrapie, which makes the process a lot more of a challenge when there are very few ARR/ARR scrapie genotyped sheep in the breed.

With the breed having the ability to lamb three times in two years the couple believes Valais have so much more to offer the UK sheep industry commercially too. Being extremely lean, they can they can produce the type of meat in demand 12 months of the year. Add in their soft, fluffy wool which needs shearing twice a year, and there is potential for another new market.

“I used to hate sheep, and will always be a cattleman at heart, but I have to admit, I have a real soft spot for the Valais” said Raymond who up until recently was better known for breeding pedigree Charolais alongside his father Johnny, from the 4200acres hill unit at Inverlochy.

Jenni added: “Life is so much better with Valais and we still have a lot to learn of their commercial value.”