Texel rams chosen sire for this Co Down enterprise

Limited housing and labour levels mean the Montgomery family of Downpatrick, Co Down, need sheep which can thrive without high levels of intervention or inputs.
The NI National Sale of Texels will be held in Ballymena Market on Saturday 4th September.  Visit www.texel.co.uk/sales-dates to download a catalogue and for the latest information on Covid -19 restriction guidance.The NI National Sale of Texels will be held in Ballymena Market on Saturday 4th September.  Visit www.texel.co.uk/sales-dates to download a catalogue and for the latest information on Covid -19 restriction guidance.
The NI National Sale of Texels will be held in Ballymena Market on Saturday 4th September. Visit www.texel.co.uk/sales-dates to download a catalogue and for the latest information on Covid -19 restriction guidance.

For Alan Montgomery who farms with his brother, Colin, and son, Niall, the net result is a ewe flock based on Mules and Texel sires used heavily across the flock.

“We’re principally an arable farm and while the sheep aren’t a secondary enterprise to that, they do have to work around our arable workload and the buildings we have available during the winter months,” explains Alan.

“That means ewes are housed as close to lambing as possible, generally no sooner than a fortnight before they’re due. They’re then back out again within a few days of lambing. We’re tight for space in the sheds, so have to be mindful of that when planning tupping and lambing dates.”

Alan Montgomery choses Texel rams for his 250 ewe commercial flock in Downpatrick Co Down.  Texel rams are sourced each year as ram lambs from the NI National Sale at Ballymena, with Alan preferring this sale for the wide selection of rams available.Alan Montgomery choses Texel rams for his 250 ewe commercial flock in Downpatrick Co Down.  Texel rams are sourced each year as ram lambs from the NI National Sale at Ballymena, with Alan preferring this sale for the wide selection of rams available.
Alan Montgomery choses Texel rams for his 250 ewe commercial flock in Downpatrick Co Down. Texel rams are sourced each year as ram lambs from the NI National Sale at Ballymena, with Alan preferring this sale for the wide selection of rams available.

As a result, the family lamb a batch of 250 ewes in early February, with these all synchronised to lamb in a short period of time. “We then lamb the main batch of ewes in March and April, with ewe lambs following on after that.

“Most of the ewes spend the winter months on arable stubbles ahead of spring crops and then the early lambing ewes go out of the shed on to forage rape which is sown in between winter barley and either potatoes or maize.

“That reduces the early pressure on grass, the sheep put some fertility back in the arable ground and ewes milk well off the rape,” he adds.

When it comes to lamb finishing Alan says the early lambs are creep fed to help get them away as quickly as possible and make the most of early season prices, with swedes grown to finish lambs on through the late autumn and winter.

“We’re aiming for a 21kg carcass throughout the main season, with lambs marketed deadweight through the Strangford Down Beef and Lamb Group. Most of our lambs grade as R3s which is exactly what the processors are looking for and leaves the best return for us all round. About 75% of our lambs would grade as Rs with the remainder being U grades, with the odd E thrown in.

“We could chase higher grades by keeping a different ewe type, but in my experience what we’d gain on grading we’d lose on lamb numbers and that would be counter-productive,” says Alan.

“Once we get to the end of November carcass weights go up to 22kg through the group, so we take them a little heavier then.”

With all male lambs left entire Alan says he finds it essential to aim towards the top end of the weight band in order to ensure lambs are well enough finished. “Killing ram lambs at 18-19kg deadweight often means they’re not quite fit enough over the shoulder and that has a knock-on effect to grading and prices.

“However, we’re also careful not to go over the 21kg or 22kg carcass weight as that means we’re penalised and effectively giving weight away to the processors,” he adds.

The family’s ewe flock is based on Mules, with these bought each year as ewe lamb replacements from a sale in North Antrim and coming from many of the same breeders each year. “We trust these flocks, know their flock health and breeding and have found them to be reliable sources of quality ewes.

“Mule ewes have proved themselves in our system year after year, their prolific, easily lambed and milky which is what matters. The margins are made on the number of lambs we sell and Mules and first crosses tick that box for us.

“In their first year the Mule ewe lambs are put to Lleyn tups, with some of the Lleyn cross ewe lambs then kept as replacements and going to a Texel. Mature Mule ewes go to a mix of Texel and other tups, including Belcares, with some of the Belclare x Mule females also retained as replacements. The flock would be about two thirds Mules and a third crossbreds overall.”

Texel rams are sourced each year as ram lambs from the Northern Irish National Sale at Ballymena, with Alan preferring this sale for the wide selection of rams available. In their first season these lambs are used for three to four weeks and then come away from the ewes and are grown on over winter.

“We appreciate that breeders have done a lot of hard work getting the lambs to the sale and it pays for us to give them a bit of care and attention when they’ve done their work in that first year. We can’t afford to buy good rams and then not look after them,” says Alan.

Texel cross lambs are quick and active at birth and hardy once turned out of the sheds, which is important in a system which relies on low labour and ewes and lambs looking after themselves once they’re out of yard.

“Every year has its own challenges and over time our system has proven itself to be robust and up to those challenges. We aim to market lambs through much of the year, with the first lambs from the early flock being sold in mid-May and selling then following on with main flock lambs sold off grass after that and a bit of a lull until we get towards the end of October and early November.

“We then sell lambs right through the winter with many of these being finished off the swedes. Texel cross lambs do well whenever we sell them, easily meeting the requirements of our buyers and delivering the right type of lamb all year round.”

This year’s NI National Show & Sale will be held in Ballymena Market on Saturday 4th September. Visit www.texel.co.uk/sales-dates to download a catalogue and for the latest information on Covid -19 restriction guidance.

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