Easy care Lleyns – for high performance, sustainability and profitability
Cutting costs has its limits when it comes to maintaining a sustainable flock under the new payment regime, however one real solution can be found if producers turn the issue round and look towards improving output by fully exploiting genetic potential. Hefin Llwyd is already among them.
The fact is blatant, the figures straight forward. Flock margin can be improved by 30% quite simply by swapping breed of damline put to a terminal sire for finished lamb production according to Hefin Llwyd. Hefin speaks from experience. “Last season, our Mules stocked at five ewes per acre achieved 173% lambs reared and went on to leave a net income of £406 per acre,” he explains. “In contrast our Lleyns, which have a slightly smaller body weight, are run at six ewes per acre and resulted in 193% lambs reared and £527 per acre net income.”
Hefins strategy is focused on high output and the Lleyn ewes are certainly helping him to deliver simply because of their natural higher levels of performance – prolificacy, milkiness, motherability and better quality carcases. “Our Charollais cross Lleyn lambs are finishing to target weight off milk and grass within16 weeks, similar to the Charollais cross Mule lambs, however we are achieving far more kilos of lamb per acre from our Lleyn crosses and they consistently achieve a higher value carcase being at least one conformation grade better,” he says.
“Over the years we have reduced inputs, for example nitrogen application by more than 50% to 80kgN/ha by encouraging clover rich leys and making better use of FYM and also calcium nitrate based fertilisers to reduce liming requirements. We have also trimmed back on feed costs by making better quality silage, finishing lambs on root crops, and over the years labour has been reduced from three full time staff to myself and a part time student,” he says.
“However, there's a limit as to how many more cuts we can make, and we have now reached the stage where we need to maximise output, yet at the same time adopt an easy care system, one with low shepherding requirements, without making any compromises to animal health or welfare. Again our Lleyn ewes score. They lamb easily, produce consistent high volumes of quality colostrum and their lambs are extremely thrifty.”
Hefin was appointed eight years ago to manage Halford Manor, a 400 acre mainly grassland holding with up to 80” annual rainfall located on the edge of Dartmoor at Taw Green, near Okehampton. He inherited an 850 ewe flock of Mules, Mule crosses and a mix of other native breeds, plus a complementary beef enterprise which nowadays comprises a small suckler herd and a bull beef finishing unit with an annual turnover of 300 head providing a year round cash flow.
His knowledge of the Lleyn ewe goes back to his Welsh roots. “I'd encountered the breed in Wales being used to improve the prolificacy of the Welsh hill ewes, and it was succeeding, ” he explains. Interest in developing the breed led Hefin shortly after arriving to Taw Green to invest in 200 pedigree MV accredited Lleyns to establish the Halford flock (1078) as an added value enterprise. Furthermore, 200 pure and cross Lleyn ewes have since been introduced to the commercial flock.
“Purebred lambs achieve similar performances to the Charollais cross Lleyns, and I'm finding that running a closed flock, with no reliance on purchasing ewes annually and all the associated problems including wormer resistance and abortion, are minimised.” Flock depreciation costs, frequently the unseen cost within an enterprise, are also reduced by ewe longevity, he says.
“Ideally I would like to replace the entire 900 commercial ewe flock with either pure or cross Lleyns in order to improve overall output. This season we have established a small pilot project using a Lleyn ram over Mule ewes to breed those replacements,” he says. “In the meantime, I'm focused on developing a high value pedigree flock selecting genetics very carefully on genotype and index.” Hefin also realised his personal ambition to own his own pedigree Lleyn flock, Dyfnaint (1135), a couple of years ago with 150 breeding females secured from the breed society's official sales in Exeter and Ross, together with private purchases of rams.
The Halford and Dyfnaint flocks are run together and recorded with MLC Flock Plan. The same strict selection criteria is applied to both with the objective of producing quality replacements for commercial producers – prolific ewes that will leave lambs that finish off milk and grass; and creaming off the top end for the pedigree sector. “I've selected for genotype and from the top 50% on maternal index, and size, in particular length, to achieve a ewe with 55kg to 65kg mature body weight. I'm satisfied with the flocks' current litter size - this season the mature ewes have scanned 200% and the shearlings, 185%.”
Within the next five years, he says he would like to expand his own pedigree flock to 500 ewes. “It's an ambition that reflects my total confidence in the Lleyn as a high performance easy care profitable breed managed in a self contained flock and suited not only to me but also to tomorrow's sheep industry.”
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