See the Stock Available for Purchase: SOLD OUT! Email with enquiries
News update : January 2012
The first lambing of about 80 ewes in September/October 2011 went well with strong (perhaps a little over fit) ewes that had flourished on the autumn grass. Hot weather for the new lambs in October was a bonus. The December lambing of a further 25 ewes was over before Christmas with damp and dismal days and little sun – but not cold. At the 8 week weighing stage for the first batch of lambs we have 8 out of the top ten ram lambs in the UK wide Signet Dorset listings – and we now wait for them to grow on to be weighed and ultrasound muscle/fat scanned at 21 weeks to see if that continues. As we rarely keep any of the December born lambs their 8 week weighing is more for our interest in the performance of the mothering ewes and fathering rams.
Our purchase two years ago on N526 Nonchalance was clearly the right move and our own three ram lambs from different sires were equally good. One of these was sold direct out of the tupping field! The NZ imports of a few years ago have introduced new bloodlines into our ewes, but without the hoped for step change in performance.
The weaned ewes are now back on their own at their winter break in the valley (200 feet lower down) readying neighbours silage fields for the next season, whilst regaining condition. They are joined by the 40 odd replacements that we retained from last years crop, and have lost twenty older ewes with feet or udder concerns.
The two Evance wind turbines are generating well and quietly reducing our electricity and carbon bills. See gallery for images. With our own water serving the fields, two expensive inputs are being managed. A couple of small hay stores/covered feeding areas (Catchment Sensitive Farming Initiative help again!) have been added to save tracking over the wet fields in the winter. However we have had the driest year in our record keeping with just half of the wettest years rainfall. The hottest day of the year was in October at 28.7 degrees. After last winters ice and snow for the lambs, this years’ crop have yet to see any white stuff ( frost or snow) – but it will undoubtedly arrive.
Enquiries for stock continue to roll in – thankfully – but at present we are light and we have had unfulfilled orders. As we are very selective on just what lambs we keep, the early call here gets results. The USA connection at K Bar K farm seems to continue to work well for them, and we have had other interest shown from Canada, Columbia and the Netherlands this last year. Export rules are complicated at best and impossible at worst – but we try to help.
No showing last year, despite hopes to go to a couple, but perhaps this year we might manage it. Our concentration remains on producing commercially productive performance animals – which are not always the best in the show ring!
News update: July 2011
Our new sheds, courtesy of the Catchment Sensitive Farming initiative have been well used providing covered areas for feeding in the cold weather and now sorting out ewes into tupping groups. A drop in our water bill for the troughs and sheds through our own water from a centuries old well is very welcome after the warm start to the summer.
