BREEDING RETHINK AFTER F&M
BREEDING RETHINK AFTER F&M
Sheep farming consultants
believe the massive
slaughter of breeding ewes
due to foot-and-mouth will
force the sheep industry
to fundamentally review
breeding policies.
Robert Davies reports
DECIMATION of breeding flocks by foot-and-mouth is likely to mean high replacement ewe costs come autumn. But stopgap measures such as keeping ewes longer or breeding replacements on farm will help address the problem, according to MLC.
Gwyn Howells, MLCs manager in Wales, hopes all sheep farmers will take a long hard look at what they produce, the breeds they use, and how efficiently they manage their flocks.
He believes the F&M crisis will accelerate changes that progressive flockmasters were already making, and others were considering, following modifications to the livestock support payments system.
"As we rebuild, the emphasis needs to be on genetic improvement and better management to optimise ewe and lamb performance and market returns," says Mr Howells. "We can concentrate more on things like flock monitoring, selection for favourable traits and breeding for disease resistance."
But he concedes that short term, the main priority for those who lost flocks will be restocking, while those whose flying flocks avoided the disease must ensure they have enough sheep to tup later this year. Both groups seem certain to find replacements scarce and costly.
Hybrid benefits
"Lowland prime lamb producers know the benefits of exploiting the hybrid vigour, prolificacy and mothering ability of half-bred and Mule ewes. But many upland specialist breeders of these sheep have been wiped out."
Rather than compete for replacements on a sellers market, he believes a significant number of half-bred users will hang on to older ewes and lamb them early, when it will be possible to give them extra attention. They could then be sold for killing, hopefully at premium prices, before cull ewes flood markets later in the year,
Sheep farming consultants
believe the massive
slaughter of breeding ewes
due to foot-and-mouth will
force the sheep industry
to fundamentally review
breeding policies.
Robert Davies reports
DECIMATION of breeding flocks by foot-and-mouth is likely to mean high replacement ewe costs come autumn. But stopgap measures such as keeping ewes longer or breeding replacements on farm will help address the problem, according to MLC.
Gwyn Howells, MLCs manager in Wales, hopes all sheep farmers will take a long hard look at what they produce, the breeds they use, and how efficiently they manage their flocks.
He believes the F&M crisis will accelerate changes that progressive flockmasters were already making, and others were considering, following modifications to the livestock support payments system.
"As we rebuild, the emphasis needs to be on genetic improvement and better management to optimise ewe and lamb performance and market returns," says Mr Howells. "We can concentrate more on things like flock monitoring, selection for favourable traits and breeding for disease resistance."
But he concedes that short term, the main priority for those who lost flocks will be restocking, while those whose flying flocks avoided the disease must ensure they have enough sheep to tup later this year. Both groups seem certain to find replacements scarce and costly.
Hybrid benefits
"Lowland prime lamb producers know the benefits of exploiting the hybrid vigour, prolificacy and mothering ability of half-bred and Mule ewes. But many upland specialist breeders of these sheep have been wiped out."
Rather than compete for replacements on a sellers market, he believes a significant number of half-bred users will hang on to older ewes and lamb them early, when it will be possible to give them extra attention. They could then be sold for killing, hopefully at premium prices, before cull ewes flood markets later in the year, suggests Mr Howells.
"It is difficult to predict early season lamb prices. But in most years it is possible to more than cover the cost of sponging and extra feed and care needed to successfully lamb older ewes in January.
"Where this is planned, ewes should be weaned earlier than usual to allow them to recover before tupping, when one ram is needed for every 10 ewes."
In the longer term, Mr Howells expects supply of Mule-type ewes to decrease anyway, as better hill farms with improved land to switch larger breeds and crossbred ewes, now they no longer have to carry a proportion of hardy ewes to get support payments.
The lack of UK supermarket demand for lightweight purebred mountain lambs, many of which weigh less than 12kg deadweight, is also stimulating the change.
Owen Arfon Jones, who farms at Bronmiod near Pwllheli, is one upland breeder who is already in the process of changing from hardy Welsh Mountain ewes to Lleyn crosses. They need a bit more care and he has sold the farms suckler herd so that he and his wife Anwen can cope.
Two trips to New Zealand and changes to the support system have convinced him that breeding ewe type, rather than ewe breed, should be the priority. "We have to produce the type of lamb the market wants and is prepared to pay a good price for. The right system for hill farms in the past is no longer valid, so we have to change or go out of business."
No rush
Mr Howells does not anticipate that many lowland breeders will rush into establishing closed flocks. But he sees a great future for suppliers of new multi-breed composite ewes to farmers specialising in prime lamb production.
Meanwhile, he expects to see large numbers of crossbred ewe lambs retained as stopgap replacements this year. They will be less prolific than half-breds, but could do a reasonable job. Females should be selected early in the season rather than as an afterthought from tail enders. From weaning they should be managed to grow steadily rather than finish. Over-flushing must be avoided, as it will increase the likelihood of difficult multiple births.
"The choice of ram to use on a first cross ewe lamb sired by a terminal sire is important. Using a Texel or Suffolk can result in high lamb birth weights and lambing problems."
But before tupping time comes around again, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, John Thorley says breeders face some tough decisions. "While new cases of F&M are still appearing, it is not possible to visualise what the sheep industry will look like next autumn.
Cancelled sales
"There will be fewer half-bred replacement ewes and quality rams on the market and some of the big sales may be cancelled. A few people will certainly look at the stupidly low return on investment they have earned in recent years and quit sheep production. But farmers are tough resilient people and most of those slaughtered out will want to restock.
"Modern sheep production is not a peasant occupation. We need people with intelligence, energy, ability and drive, who are properly respected and rewarded by politicians and consumers."
And he insists that those who continue sheep farming after the epidemic will need to renew their recent commitment to using the best available genetics.
"So many breeding flocks have been decimated and bloodlines that put the UK at the top of the genetics tree have been lost. Breeders may have to start again with lower quality dam lines, but efforts have been made to store some of the best genetics."
Mr Thorley hopes that as the industry restructures after the crisis, the stratification that gave it vitality in the past will be preserved. This will mean continued reliance on prolific F1 half-bred ewes bred by using longwool rams on hardy hill ewes.
Best chance
"They may not be around in the usual numbers next autumn, but for many they provide the best long term chance of profitable prime lamb production. Some will keep their Mule ewes for an extra year, though there are significant cost and management implications."
Others may retain some of their own crossbred ewe lambs, or go for draft ewes from hill areas that escaped the disease. But this could result in the appearance of more lambs that do not exactly match supermarket specifications, he says.
"I would appeal to the big retailers to take an enlightened view and back the industry by taking a much wider range of lambs until breeders can recover from the decimation of flocks in some areas." *
OVERCOMING REPLACEMENT GAP
• Lamb old ewes early.
• Tup home-bred ewe lambs.
• Accept poorer quality lambs?
Decimated by foot-and-mouth, Mule ewe supply will decrease as some hill farms switch to crossbred ewes, says Gwyn Howells.