NSA Welsh Sheep 2009
Tuesday 19th May 2009

The Lleyn Sheep Society gained 3rd place in the Breed Society Stand competition. The stand featured Lleyn ewes with Lleyn lambs and commercial crosses out of Lleyn ewes, these included, Texel, Charrollais, Meatlink, Hampshire and Blue Texel.

The challenges of farming land rising to 1750 feet in the Hiraethog Hills was a main feature of NSA Welsh Sheep 2009. The farming enterprise extends to more than 200 hectares, with a further 141 hectares of common grazing and is run by Dewi Ellis and his parents, Eifion and Ann. The family runs 1150 Lleyn pedigree ewes and 100 Suckler Cows plus followers.

This year the family has got together with other members of the North Wales Lleyn Club to cross the Lleyn ewes with a range of terminal sires. The Ellis family has put 120 ewes to Hampshire and Meatlinc rams and 250 to Texels. “We want to show really what the Lleyn can do”, says Dewi. “We’ve used the Texel before and were pleased with the results. It will be really interesting to show the range of lambs the Lleyn can produce.”

The ewes usually lamb in late April and May and are all MV Accredited, but this year will be lambing in March. The flock has only used ARR/ARR rams since 2001. The Farm is FAWL Farm Assured and is also part of the Llywio Lleyn Group.

We have always used very correct rams of good quality’, stresses Dewi. ‘When the NSP started genotyping, we were lucky that all our Stock Rams were Group 1. In Wales we have been able to genotype through the Welsh Ewe Genotype Scheme all ewe lambs since 2002 with most results coming back as Group 1 or 2. Also our culling has been drastic. If there is a problem of any sort, they are culled into the fatstock market. Our policy is not to pass on these problems to other breeders’.