Highland Show champion sheep breeder, Jonnie Campbell, highlights passion for NCCs

“I see a bright future for them,” he said. “I am involved with the North Country Cheviot council, and we have around three meetings a year. At every meeting there is always a page full of new farmers applying for membership in both the park-type and hill-type side of the breed so we must be doing something right.

“With the two breed types we have sheep which can suit all farms. The hill-type Cheviots are pretty versatile and can run on many different places. The park-type sheep is more a lowland breed and you get a really good lambing percentage out of them. Each type needs to keep its identity, trying to mix up the two isn’t something I would choose to do. The breed is on the crest of a wave at the moment, we are always there or thereabout at inter-breed championships.”

The heart of the breed’s strength lies in its ability to cross to produce quality ewes according to the Caithness farmer.

“If you want to cross with the Bluefaced Leicester, Border Leicester, Texel or the Suffolk, its quality which is produced every time. The Cheviot is focused on the commercial reality of the sheep sector to keep our customers coming back.”

If the breed is currently riding a crest of a wave then Jonnie would be surfing at the top after his recent victory taking the North Country Cheviot Championship at the Royal Highland Show this year. Describing it as a showing career highlight, Jonnie won with the shearling tup, Bardnaclavan Cooper sired by Cairnside Action Man. Cairnside Action Man was privately bought after he took reserve at Caithness Show in 2019. “When I saw the tup lamb at the Caithness show, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and when I got home I thought I had to have it,” admitted Jonnie. “So the next day I bought him privately.”

It was a successful Highland Show in June, as they also got first prize with a tup lamb by Cairnside Action Man and first prize with a ewe lamb sired by Durran Ace.

Jonnie said: “It was really special winning this year with my wife Christine and kids Ross and Ailsa there with us. It is one of the most special moments I have had.”

It was a long sought victory for the Campbells who last won in 2002 having been reserve champion three times in the last 20 years. He is hoping not to wait another 20 years to win again and plans a return to the show next year to defend the title.

North Country Cheviots have been bred by the Campbells with the breed coming with the family when they moved to the 450-acre farm at Bardnaclavan in 1966. “Cheviots have been here ever since I was born. I have a passion for them, the breed is in my blood, I can't help it really.”

When father Sandy and Uncle David moved eight miles to Bardnaclavan from the hill farm Dorrery they took the hill-type Cheviot ewes with them. From these they bred a park-type Cheviot flock as well as keeping a hill-type Cheviot flock. Today the Campbells have 150 pedigree pure park-type Cheviots and 450 registered hill-type Cheviots alongside 30 pedigree Texels and 250 commercial Texel cross Cheviot ewes.

“Dad and my uncle were not scared to push the flock on and buy good tups. One I remember was when we bought a share in a tup for £6000 in 1990. I remember buying a lot of good tups from Jim Farquhar at Smiddyquoy, his blood lines have had a strong influence on our flock.

“Another good tup from Jim was Smiddyquoy Swell which we bought for £2200 in the mid 1990s. He left a lot of really good ewes for us, and consistently bred good males and females. Jim was a master at bringing out tups. I always looked forward to visiting his flock on the tup tour before the sales began. There was always something to excite you there.

“More recently we have bought one or two good sheep from Alan Simpson at Cairnside, Watten. His blood lines seem to have done really well with me, these last 10 to 12 years. They have given us a lot of consistency. Cairnside Northern Light did awful well here leaving excellent sons.

“We bought a grandson back from the Queen Mother’s Longoe flock called Longoe Whistler in 2018 who breed sons to £3500. More recently we bought a lamb from Cairnside privately which sired Bardnaclavan Cooper – this year's Highland Show champion"

Jonnie sometimes buys a tup lamb privately but usually buys new stock rams as shearlings in the ring. The most they have spent is £7000 for Wester Legend from the Cormack Family at Wester by Dunnet in 2001. The tup went on to breed their 2002 Royal Highland Show Champion Bardnaclavan Supreme who sold privately as a lamb to Jim Farquhar's Smiddquoy flock. Bardnaclavan Supreme then went onto be reserve champion at the 2003 Royal Highland Show.

The Campbells would have bought the odd female when Sandy ran the flock but since Jonnie took the reins he has closed the flock and only brought in tups.

This September a trip to the Lockerbie tup sale is planned for Jonnie. He said: "every so often it is good to source some new genetics to freshen the blood lines in the flock. When selecting a tup to buy I always look for something that is bright, balanced and modern.”

When selling sheep, the best price Jonnie has received was for a shearling tup Bardnaclavan Blacksmith which sold for £6000 last year to Andrew Polson of Smerlie, Lybster. The 10 tups they took to Quoybrae averaged £2000 each.

Previous to last year's strong sale the Campbell’s top price was for Bardnaclavan Champion which was bought by Smiddyquoy and James Mackay of Biggins for £4800.

Their female sheep record was set last year at £1800 for a gimmer sold at Quoybrae mart. It was a daughter of Longoe Whistler, bought by Kelvin Williamson from Shetland.

Jonnie believes he should put the cream-of-the-crop to the North Country Cheviot sales at Quoybrae as he said it has “always been the place for the breed. We all want the sale to be a success so we put the best of the tups there each year.

He also sells privately and sends a smaller number of tups down to Dingwall too. He said: “There is a really good centre for Cheviots in Lockerbie but if I start going there with tups folk are not going to make the effort to come to sales up here in Caithness. It is a long way so we have to make it worth it, it has to be best when they come this distance.”

The hill-type Cheviot tups usually go to Lairg and Dingwall mart with the highest price of £3000 received for Campbells Arnie, sold in 2021 at Lairg to Dunbeath Estate.

It is not just Cheviots which have been successful for the Campbells, they have previously bred a Royal Highland Show Border Leicester champion with a gimmer in 1998.

“I enjoyed my time with the Border Leicester, and had a lot of fun breeding half breds.” said Jonnie. “But I sold them in 2009. The price we were getting for Half-breds at the time was very poor and I felt we needed to go in a different direction with our sheep. The funny thing is the market picked up after we got out of them.”

From the early 2000s Jonnie had been introducing Texels to the farm as the 450 strong commercial flock moved away from Half-breds to Texel cross Cheviots. Since 2000 the Campbells started a pure Texel flock of 30 ewes for replacements and selling some tups. The sales have been strong with a highest price so far of £1500 on three different occasions at Quoybrae mart.

The family also used to also breed Suffolks but after a trip in the fanks where he broke both wrists and kneecap Jonnie thought something had to give and chose to give up their third pedigree breed. “I don't really miss them to be honest” he admitted. “I find it easier to buy them than trying to breed them. I buy a traditional British type Suffolk usually from Thainstone in Aberdeenshire.”

FARM facts

Farming: Bardnaclavan 450 acres of which 80% is ploughable ground

Team: Farming in partnership with my brother David. I tend to run the sheep side and he does the cattle and machinery.

Sheep: 150 pedigree park-type Cheviots, 450 hill-type Cheviots, 30 Texels and 350 Texel cross Cheviots

Lambing: In the shed in March with park-type and cross ewes then outside in April with the hill-type Cheviots

Cattle: 150 Simmental cross cows which go to Charolais and Aberdeen-Angus bulls

Selling: Pedigree sheep at Quoybrae mart and prime lambs to Woodheads, Turriff, Quoybrae and Dingwall.

On the spot

Best investment – cattle handling system making life so much easier. We bought a Cattle Crowder and it was about £5000

Favourite time on the farm – if you get the weather, lambing outside in April is brilliant

Favourite pass time outside farming? – Rangers football club, I don’t get the chance to get to games, but I love following the club. Also spending time with Christine and the kids.

Sporting achievement – Representing my country in the European tug of war championship. I was part of the Halkirk team which won the Scottish title in 2005 which gave us the chance to compete in Italy.