WHEN CASH IS TIGHT, THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A DRAFT BLACKFACE EWE TO GIVE YOU A GOOD RETURN ON YOUR MONEY. 

When cash is tight, there is nothing like a draft Blackface ewe to give you a good return on your money. This is what  young Mid-Lothian farmer, Ben McSporran has discovered over the last year.

   Ben now runs about 700 cross ewes on a contract farming partnership at his uncles’ farm, Wester Middleton near Gorebridge, but last year he had the chance of some more rough grazing and needed more ewes. He said, “I couldn’t afford to buy cross ewes so I headed up to Dalmally and bought 212 five-crop Blackface ewes, plus a few from Oban and UA to average £64 per head.”

   He took them home and tupped them with crossing type Bluefaced Leicester tups from Hamildean, Posso and Blarnavaid. They scanned 151 per cent and marked at 146 per cent, which he reckons is testament to the Blackie’s mothering ability.

  Ben, who is only 23, said, “The best thing was the 131 singles did not receive any concentrate; they only used one 25kg pre-lambing tub on the rough hill which rises to 1350 feet. They all lambed outside from 6th April and I only had to assist six of them.”

   The twins also basically lambed themselves in rough parks but received 1/2kg per head of concentrate from three weeks pre-lambing.

   Ben explained that he bought the ewes from big commercial estates in the west of Scotland, where they would never have been lambed in their lives. He said, “One of the best things about these Blackie ewes is their longevity. If they have reared lambs every year for five years in these conditions, they are tough.”

   The ewes have been cheap to keep, they were dipped and bolused when they arrived last September and had a Cydectin dose pre-lambing but that’s all. Ben also sold about 30 ewes which were empty for £75 per head.

   As he is trying to build up his cross ewe flock, he plans to keep all the ewe lambs this year, but the first mule wedders to be sold fat off the grass at the end of July averaged £140 per head and recently he drew 63 for Dunbia which averaged 21.3kg and £143.80. They were all R and U grades.

   After weaning he  sold 100 of the poorer ewes fat with their coats on for an average of £53. He has retained some to tup again and reckons he will buy some more this year to make use of rough ground that has never  previously been used.

   Ben said he would like to get to the stage where he could breed some Mule ewe lambs for sale. This year he will tup a few of the most forward with a Texel but most will be kept and tupped as gimmers. After they have had their first lambing, he tups them with a Suffolk and he retains 40 to 50 of each cross.

   Having worked with the Campbell family at Glenrath from leaving school until a couple of years ago, Ben is no stranger to the Blackface breed, which gave him the confidence to buy draft ewes at Dalmally. He does not regret his decision and he reckons they have left a decent return, especially, he pointed out, when you take into consideration the value of the ewe lambs he is keeping.

   He said, “I would hope the wedder lambs sold off the Blackies will average £130 per head between July and January, which I believe is a good return on a ewe which only cost £64 and has been exceptionally cheap to keep.”