The leaves are busy falling from the trees and we are rapidly heading towards the festive period, therefore I thought it was time to provide an update on the flocks activities over the second half of 2016 as things have been hectic!

Our sheep enjoyed great success at the two local shows we attended in the Summer. There is a separate post to cover the details but I think it will be some time before we have another day like the one we enjoyed at Burwarton Show! The trophies have now been engraved and look fantastic for all our visitors to see! This proved to me that you can win shows with high index, performance recorded sheep taken from the field a few days before the event. This is a refreshing change to many of the shows I attend where the “show team” are selected early in the year and then fed to the hilt with the Judge then being expected to “choose the fattest with the most breed type”!

From a sales perspective the season has now concluded and we have been delighted as we have sold more animals from home than previously. This is our preference as it is a lot less stressful on both the animals and the breeder,  but just as importantly it gives the buyer the opportunity to see the system that the animals are produced in.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people buy their next Tup(s) (which will represent up to 50% of their flock) by just looking at the animal on sale day when in “sale condition”. We all know someone (or perhaps its happened to us if we are honest) who have had the experience of purchasing something that “melted”. Visiting the breeder is a great way to reduce this risk as you can make your own judgement about how the animals have been produced and stand a better chance of things working out.

Sale highlights included:

• Half share of £4,000 Kimbolton Venturer sold to Cefin Pryce
• Ram lambs to a top of £1,700
• Providing Shearling Rams to large well known Estates
• Maintaining repeat business with commercial customers
• Gaining new commercial customers
• Selling foundation genetics to three new young pedigree breeders
• Selling Rams and Semen into significant research projects
• Exporting a consignment of lambs to the Netherlands
• Selling out of females during the summer
• Finding a suitable home for the Phantom – our famous Ram!

A massive thanks to all of our customers and everyone who has shown interest in what we are trying to achieve. It seems that more and more people are wanting to maximise their returns and are now realising that using the right genetics can make a huge impact on their bottom line.

PS – Happy Christmas!!