The initial reason Lleyn were introduced to Laneside was their accredited status, and their suitability for running alongside John Kingan’s Texels, but it only took one lambing season to decide they were there to stay.

In 2001, the stock on the 450-acre unit, which is situated just outside Dumfries, fell victim to the foot-and-mouth cull, and it was while re-stocking that John decided that now was the time to change to a lower input style system. All the ground was ploughed, and re-established with high clover content grass and, since then, no nitrogen has been spread on the farm. Furthermore, instead of rebuilding the Mule flock, John bought in some Lleyn females.
Because they are non-accredited, it was always a problem keeping the Mules separate from the Texels, so the Lleyn seemed a viable alternative, he explained.
‘I bought 30 gimmers and ewe lambs at a Carlisle sale in September that year, plus a tup from David Knowles, at Cragg Farm, Kendal, and, by the time lambing was over the following spring, I was converted!’

The breed is favoured for its mothering ability and John says that trait was obvious to him from the start. ‘When the first pair of lambs were born, I went out to the field to have a look at them and the ewe stood up, stamped her foot at me, and held her ground; to me that was a sign she was going to be a good mother.’

Out of that entire first lot that lambed, I had my hand in just two of them; plus they lamb outside and they will happily rear two or three lambs. This year I had 72 ewes that reared triplets and they coped just fine. Compared to the Mule, I’ve found the Lleyn to be a lot easier to stock and to look after - they look after themselves.’

The flock now numbers 450 females, which are managed alongside John’s 60-ewe Texel flock and 30 pure Limousin cattle. Spring barley is grown on 75 of the 450 acres.

Following the purchase of the foundation females at Carlisle, others were bought from John Morton, Bank Hall; Denton Park Estates; and David Alexander, Millside.

John has been particularly selective in the type of sheep he has bought, aiming for a long, stretchy ewe, to suit the lowland ground, whilst still maintaining some shape. ‘The breed has so much going for it. It’s a low maintenance sheep that can stand very high stocking rates on low quality ground and still do well. As long as a bit of shape is kept in them, they are an ideal commercial ewe’, said John, who has also been impressed with the ability of the Lleyn to produce a quality carcase.

Up until 2007, half the ewes have been kept pure, while the rest have been put to the Texel tup, but John says that, while the Texel crosses make slightly more through the live ring, there is practically no difference when they are hung up. ‘In 2007, I put away 190 lambs, a mix of pure Lleyn and Texel cross Lleyn. Only three of those dropped out of the premium price bracket and they were Texel crosses that were over fat. Bearing in mind that 2007
was a bad year, they were all making around 195p per kg deadweight.’

Subsequently, John now plans to keep all the Lleyn pure and this year’s lot will mostly go deadweight, through Galloway Primestock. They are finished off grass, weighing 40-45kg. The 2008 deadweight average has been around £73/head with minimal inputs, showing a return of around £127 per ewe.

This year John has experimented with growing Swift kale/rape hybrid, to finish the tail end of the lambs, and in a bid to fertilise the cereal without spreading nitrogen. Next year he plans to put in 15 acres of Chicory grass mix, a broad leaf forage crop with a high protein content.

‘I have noticed a difference in the input costs with the Lleyn. The in-lamb ewes receive hay from Christmas time and then 1lb of cake two weeks before lambing. I used to feed the Mules 1.5-2lbs from November, right through until six weeks after lambing. That is a big saving.’

While the females have previously all been retained to build up flock numbers, in 2009 he is planning to have a few females and a selection of males at Stirling, Carlisle and Skipton, as, so far, the best of the males have been used at home, where one tup usually runs with 75 ewes.

One stock ram, bought a few years ago for 1000gns from Welsh breeder Arfon Hughes, Ty Cerrig, has proved a worthy breeder, having produced the last two years of show teams. In that lot is a male and reserve overall champion at the 2007 Highland Show, reserve female at the 2008 Highland, champion at Kelso, reserve at Dumfries, and the top two breed tickets at Wigtown. Not a bad CV, considering John only started showing Lleyn three years ago.
‘I exhibited at the Highland for the first time last year, and I found the breeders to be such an open and friendly group of people. I was welcomed in to the company, and that certainly spurred me on to show again. Showing doesn’t generally make you any money, but it promotes the breed and the social side makes it worthwhile.’

At the shows and at home, John is assisted by freelance stockman Ewan Burgess, and retired shepherd Sandy Grant still helps out on the farm.

John is certainly a man open to new ideas and, being a relatively new breeder, he admits he’s still lots to learn about the Lleyn but it seems he’s off to a promising start. He concedes: ‘in the present climate, with input costs going through the roof, an adaptable breed that can survive on low inputs, without sacrificing quality, is bound to be heading in the right direction.’

Lynsey Clark
The Scottish Farmer