Featured Farms » It's Never Too Late to Use Texel Rams
Jackie Clarke, who farms at Bellewstown, Navan, Co. Meath, says sheep farming is no bother as long as you have a good dog and a way of working. In the quota days of sheep farming, Jackie farmed up to 600 ewes but currently carries a smaller flock.
Down through the years, he traditionally used Suffolk rams to cross on his ewe flock but in the last 10 years he has used many of the continental breed of rams on his flock. It was in 2001, at the age of 76 years, Jackie decided to try Texel rams (two were purchased at local Texel Society sales and two more from a local breeder). In 2002, when the lambing season started, Jackie realised that he had discovered a breed that had something special to offer.
The first and immediate trait that came to his notice was hardiness, lambs would be up and suckling within 2 to 3 minutes. As that year moved on, Jackie watched this new breed (Texel) he was using very carefully. When it came to drenching time his Texel cross lambs looked very clean compared to the other breeds of lambs that he has on the farm and when his first sales started, which at the time took place at Trim Mart, or from the farmyard, his Texel cross lambs had that extra bit to offer and they always made a few pounds more on the day.
Following the closure of Trim Mart (which Jackie says is a big loss to the area not alone for selling stock but for the social side of meeting many friends on mart day) lambs are now sold either at ICM Meats in Navan or sold to a local lamb buyer on the farm. He says that he gets paid better for Texel cross lambs because of the higher grades of his lambs and the lamb buyer keeps coming back for more so as Jackie states: “I must be doing something right.”
Jackie can recall many aspects of sheep farming since he started in 1939. After the war, he said wool was worth, in today’s money, €2.80 per kilo. Lambs would sell for around €6. Breeding ewes cost a similar price of around €6/€7 per head and a good breeding ewe’s crop of wool could make up to €10 at the time.
In the early 90’s, his mid-season lambs would sell for €75/€80 per head. It is these prices that Jackie would like to see returning which in today’s currency would be €100/€110 each.
Jackie is still very committed to the sheep business and is adamant of one thing and that is he will only use one breed of ram in the future, which is TEXEL.
Jackie pointed out some of the advantages of using Texel rams:
- Easy care, hardy at birth.
- Very clean first drench on 25th July 2007.
- Texel cross lambs sell very well at home.
- Texel cross lambs make top prices in the factory.
- Texel cross ewes make super mothers.
Date Published: 31/03/2008
