Solwaybank Pedigree Suffolks

Attention All Customers

2011-09-16T14:18:00.002+01:00

Anyone who has bought a ram from the Ewebank or Solwaybank flocks that wishes to register their rams are to call the society directly and quote the lambs eartag number.

Proformas are no longer available to the members and this is how it is to be done from now on.

I have taken 5 minutes to make you a printable version for you to download and print off. Free Proforma Download

Just fill the relevant bits in and send it back with your returns.

Everything is stored on basco so they will just need the name that you want to call the ram and put the ear tag number in and the job is sorted.

Top Price lamb at Kelso 2011

2011-09-09T19:11:00.002+01:00

Top priced lamb sold at Kelso 2011 for £5000 to James Rooney and Gerry Killilea.

Disperal Sale Announced

2011-06-24T11:23:00.001+01:00

Don Robertsons "Northtyne" flock of pedigree suffolk sheep will be dispersed at Carlisle market on Monday the 25th of July.

This will be a unique chance to buy some top bloodlines from the breed based on Glenisla blood stock which is now very hard to source.

There will be 33 aged ewes for sale by a range of top quality suffolk rams.
20 gimmers will be on offer and 15 very breedy ewe lambs all or mostly sired by Glenhead Infusion.

The ram himself will be at the sale along with 12 ram lambs.

All females will be sold empty. This is a sale not to be missed.

Ayr Show 2011

2011-05-14T21:53:00.000+01:00

This year there was only 16 suffolks forward at the show but the quality was still good.

Champion was David and Mary Gilmour along with son Ian from the Broomknowes flock.

This ewe lamb was sired by a Stockton ram purchased at Edinburgh last year.

Reserve champion was also from the Gilmours and sired by the same ram.

The results were as follows.

Aged Rams - 2 forward

1st - A Bothwell
2nd - W Borthwick

Ram Lamb - 4 forward

1st - A Bothwell
2nd - Annie Hutchon & Gary Beacom
3rd - D&P Reid
4th - D Gilmour

Ewe - 2 forward

1st - A Bothwell
2nd - P McFadzean

Gimmer - 3 forward

1st - Anne Mcvey
2nd - D&P Reid
3rd - W Borthwick

Ewe lamb - 5 forward

1st - D Gilmour
2nd - D Gilmour
3rd - D&P Reid
4th - P McFadzean
5th - Annie Hutchon & Gary Beacom

Weaned the lambs tonight

2011-05-04T22:06:00.000+01:00

It could be a noisey night for the neighbours as tonight we weaned the lambs off their mothers. It didn't take long as we just run them through the race with a shedding gate. It is forecast to rain tomorrow so we will probably dose them for worms next week when it dries up.

The lambs are very clean this year. The Rhaeadr Rastafari ram has done a great job and Cairness Castello has probably bred even better than last year.

The Cairness Castello gimmers we have selected for showing are probably the best we have ever had as they are so correct on their legs and have tremendous style.

If the lambs continue on nice and steady from now on then there should be a few good ones later on.

I think this year I will take my best lamb to Carlisle and maybe take 3 to Stirling. The rest are better to be sold at commercial sales when the demand is there in September.

New Email Address

2011-03-08T13:19:00.000Z

My old email address has not been working for the last month or so.

The only email address you can contact me on now is mail@solwaybanksuffolks.co.uk.

If you have emailed me in the past month then I have not received your mail so please send it again.

How the lambing gone

2011-02-19T13:11:00.000Z

Our lambing has finished and things are looking alright at the minute. The weather has been far too wild to keep the lambs outside so we have let them run back into a shed at night.

How has your lambing gone and do you have any stars?

Is anyone going to the AGM at Edinburgh?

Female Sales

2010-11-23T21:13:00.000Z

The big females sales that everyone has been waiting for are coming up in the next 2 weeks.

First of all we have the Baileys sale on Saturday the 27th at Batterstown. Download Catalogue

The big sale this year is the sale to be held on the 3rd of December at Carlisle. It has been called the sale of the century which is quite a statement but I think it will be a cracker. Download Catalogue

The Way Forward?

2010-11-06T12:29:00.001Z

At Carlisle female sale yesterday many people said that they would not be attending next years Northern Area Branch sale as it is too far to travel. The Carlisle female sale only had about 60 females there on the day and it seems to be losing market share to the Beeston collective sale which I have heard is of a very high standard this year.

With this in mind is it time that we had radical new thinking from the society?

To keep all branches happy why don't they organise one large pedigree breeders sale at Carlisle?

How it would work is that if you were from Scotland you would be in the Northern Area show class.

If you were from the Nothern Counties then you would show in that class.

There would then be the National class for everyone else that was from England, Wales Scotland and Ireland so that show would carry on as normal.

That would mean that all the shows would continue and be judged on the one day in their areas and then we could have a champion of champions class for an over all winner from all the shows.

We might be able to have one large sale with 400 pedigree lambs in the one place for everyone to come and see.

The branches would then be able to organise further sales in their area at a more commercial time and raise some more income for the branch and at the same time give the sellers a better sale to sell their sheep at.

The other option is to forget the society sales and just have a sale like Kelso at Carlisle.

The South of Ireland Branch are thinking about moving their sale and bringing their sale date forward.
Most people over there think that one combined sale from the north and south would be an ideal solution.

Irelands Leading Breeders Sale

2010-11-04T21:11:00.000Z

I found the catalogue for the sale in Ireland on Saturday.
It does look as if there will be some decent sheep for sale at it.
There seems to be a few well bred Solwaybank Ranger females for sale and there is one sheep in lamb to my ram that was purchased by Arthur O'keeffe this year.

Another good sale could be the one at Stirling next week. There are a few flock reductions and a dispersal.

Saturday 13th November at 11am

Annual Collective sale of 173 MV Accredited Pedigree Sheep. Comprising 153 Suffolk, 14 Zwartbles and 6 Charollais females. Sale to include Dispersal of the Strathmore flock and Major Reductions from the Galcantray and Hollycroft flocks (Suffolk). An excellent selection of females in lamb to top sires

The next big sale after that is Saturday 20th November at 11 am

Borderway Market, Carlisle, in conjunction with Harrison and Hetherington

180 PEDIGREE SUFFOLK SHEEP

Annual sale from the Cairness Flock (JG Douglas) 30 ewes and 30 gimmers, with consignments from the Stockton Flock (WH Sinnett & Sons) 22 ewes, 7 gimmers and 18 ewe lambs and Hazeltree Flock (County Turf Ltd) 6 ewes and 10 gimmers also Dispersal Sale of the Wells Flock (HP Sleigh & Son) 35 ewes, 11 gimmers, 11 ewe lambs and quantity of semen. The above is the largest offering at this event from three of the country's leading flocks, in lamb to an exciting range of sires

What Went Wrong?

2010-10-30T00:49:00.000+01:00

At tonights West & Central club get together our committee had a quick and informal chat about the voting that had taken place to decide where the Northern Area sale was going to be.

A few points were raised which I thought were very good.

1) The Northern Area committee did not hold an EGM as instructed to by the members who attended the AGM.
2) A meeting was held at Kelso at which they decided to send out a postal vote instead of having an EGM.
3) Carlisle was added to the voting list as a possible venue but the constitution only allowed us to sell in Scotland. I was unaware of this fact at the time I placed my vote.
4) People were allowed to vote for a choice that was not possible (Carlisle)
5) Some people knew about this and they voted for Stirling as they believed that Carlisle was not an option.
6) The whole thing should be null and void as the voting slips were not valid and because we have still not had an EGM.

I was also wondering have we voted for Stirling market to hold the sale every year or are we travelling around all the markets?

The Final Results

2010-10-28T22:52:00.000+01:00

After todays meeting Stirling Market was the clear winner and will host next years Northern Area branch sale.

Lets hope that the commercial men are out in force and that people are willing to drive further north to the sale,

Female Sales 2010

2010-10-27T21:34:00.000+01:00

Here are a few links to females for sale this year.
Beeston Sale
Carlisle Sale

The Final Countdown

2010-10-27T18:54:00.001+01:00

This time tomorrow should see the location of the 2011 Northern Area sale revealed.
There seems to have been a very large response to the voting slips that were sent out so it is good that so many members have taken the time to respond.

Either way it will be a result that is not going to please everyone.
Many of the old timers wish for the sale to remain in Edinburgh which would see it suffer a painful death as the cost of the event would make it impossible to carry on. This will not happen as it was ruled out at the 2010 AGM.
Some members have voted for a market just because it is in Scotland.
Other members will have voted for Carlisle as it easier for us to attract buyers to the market.

In the UK we only need 2 early Suffolk sales to supply the breeders and a few commercial buyers. In Ireland there is alot of talk about them combining the North and South sales into one large sale.

I think the 3 sales would be more than adequate to meet the demand for Suffolk rams early in the year.

What we really need is well organised commercial sales later in the year so that we can give our customers rams when they want and need them. No one would sell Christmas trees in July so why do we try to sell so many rams when there is no demand for them.

Isolation of animals in Ireland also seems to be a big problem. Many Irish buyers haev told me that they can't buy rams because it will close their farms down and they will not be able to sell their own stock. Should the Irish sales be before the UK sales?

My proposal would be that the National Sale was held on the 22nd and 23rd of July.
The Irish sale would be held on the 29th and 30th of July
The Northern Area sale would then be the 4th and 5th of August..

Hopefully this would give everyone more time between the 2 UK sales and if you bought a tup at the National which did not work then you had the chance to go to the Northern area branch sale to buy another.
Hopefully the Irish sale being shifted would allow more people to attend the Morthern area sale aswell with the chance to buy a ram or bring rams to the sale.

New Registering System - Good or Bad?

2010-10-17T12:17:00.002+01:00

Sheepy left a comment about the new system -
I got my autumn returns yesterday and I dont really agree with the new pedigree identification. it will mean more time spent stamping the ewes and more money getting the flock code and numbers printed on the tags also do you know if the ear notch number has to go into the eid chip on the tag.

Here is what I know sheepy - The tags that we have now probably all bought with the idea that we would use them for the next few years are useless unless you use them for your fat lambs?

I spoke to Lewis during the week and he told me that we are copying what the Texels do.

I tried to do this years ago and we were told that you were not allowed to do it. It is done in other breeds now so it must be ok to do now.

I went through my returns last night and I have 159 birth notified sheep to remove from Basco.

I have had to pay to put these sheep on the system and now we will have to pay someone to remove them.

I think a simple system would be to register all your lambs on your farm as of the 1st of June in each year for £1 + vat. Birth notification is a total waste of time and money.
If the tup lambs are not registered as rams within 2 years then they just automatically get marked as sold.
Any unretained ewes would also do the same or be transferred into another flock.

So lets weigh the 2 systems up - Society system is to Birth notify for 50p online or £1 if not online.
We pay a fee to Basco for every sheep that we add to the system and we pay NMR for every sheep they put on. We then get more paper work sent out later on to say do you wish to register these sheep. Costs are £6 online and £8 if not online and we then pay NMR to put the sheep on as registered and to remove any sheep marked as sold or dead etc.

My system would be pay the £1 and register the sheep straight away.
If the sheep is transferred then it costs the new owner £6.
If the sheep is a ram and not named after 2 years then it drops into the sold section automatically.
Females would be updated by the owner or seller.
Ram registrations £20

I wonder what system we will use?

I am sure when Lewis reads this that he will be able to answer your questions better than I can sheepy as there must have been alot of people putting their input into this before they would make such a change.

In Lamb Females for Sale

2010-10-14T20:35:00.008+01:00

I now have my ewes scanned and can offer a select number of females for sale in lamb to my new Rhaeadr ram or Cairness Castello.
If you wish to receive more details about the sheep I have for sale then please email me.

This year we only let the tup run with the ewes for one cycle and it seems to have worked out nicely with over 80% holding to the Ai.

FHT-K35 - Sold

FHT-J91

FHT - K25 - Sold

FHT - L23

FHT - L105 - Sold

Sarpo Mira | Seed Potatoes | Seed Potato Catalogue

2010-10-13T14:17:00.000+01:00

Sarpo Mira Seed Potatoes Seed Potato Catalogue

Sarpo Mira Scottish seed potatoes are now available from JBA seed potatoes.
A great blight resistant variety.

Voting Time

2010-10-07T21:07:00.001+01:00

It is getting closer and closer to the time to reveal the new venue for the Northern area branch sale.
Most people realise that Carlisle is the place to go so I think the voting will be close between all the options with many older members voting for any market as long as it is in Scotland.

The weather has picked up and I now have my ewe lambs outside that I bare clipped a couple of weeks ago. They have came out of their wool well. One top tip for everyone is never put lambs into a new seeds field after is has been in potatoes the previous year. The sulphur levels will be sky high and you will end up with your lambs going backwards. This happened to me this year when I put my sale lambs onto new grass and they just totally fell apart. Oh well I will try again next year.

The female sale season will be upon us soon and as normal all the Aberdeen sheep breeders are coming down to Carlisle to sell their stock. I think there could be some super females for sale this year and we might have a look at one or two to see if there are any bloodlines that we would like.

Not Sheep Related Yet

2010-09-13T12:56:00.000+01:00

My new potato forum is free for you to join and I might stick a sheep section in there so that you can chat online.

After lots of work from the tireless Yabba we are pleased to announce that www.growingpotatoes.co.uk is up and running.

This is the only dedicated potato forum that we know of and you can discuss anything you like about potatoes on it.

We will constantly update the features and articles on the forum so give it a go and join for free.

A New Start

2010-09-10T20:57:00.001+01:00

After the latest meeting of the Northern area branch at Kelso it has been decided to move the Northern area branch sale to a new location as a way to reduce costs and revive interest in the sale.

Since the year 2000 we have steadily seen a decrease in numbers of sheep attending the sale from over 430 lambs to a low of 180. With the costs involved in the sale it was no longer economical for the sale to be held at Edinburgh and the Northern area branch have realised this and taken action.

There will now be a postal vote for all members of the Northern area branch with 4 options that I know of.
Option 1 will be for the sale to be held at St Boswells
Option 2 will be for the sale to be held at Stirling market
Option 3 will be for the sale to be held at Lanark market
Option 4 will be for the sale to be held at Carlisle market.

Another option could be to hold the sale at the Kelso ram sales and have a show there.
You can then use any auctioneer you like and each auctioneer would give a percentage to the northern area.

Suffolks In Demand

2010-09-07T07:58:00.000+01:00

It looks like the tide may be turning for Suffolk rams.
Already in Ireland Suffolk rams are what's wanted with many other breeds being unsaleable.
I had a quick study through the sale averages of some of the texel sales and at Carlisle last week there were 649 rams entered and 228 were either not forward/unsold or chucked out.
Lets hope that there is a good trade for quality suffolk rams at Kelso this week.

Roscrea 2010

2010-08-09T18:40:00.001+01:00

News from the Roscrea sale is that Bailey had the top price of 5000.
Next top was 4200 from the Wilsons of Shannagh and Castleisle which sold to David Inman.
Gerry Killilea had one of the top lambs at the sale and he cashed it in at 2900 to a group of top Northern Irish breeders. Ronnie Black of Collesie took the full brother of this lamb home for 1100.
Pictures from the sale can be viewed here. http://www.agriimages.co.uk/gallery/index.asp?Cat=59&SCat2=310&PagePosition=1

My New Ram

2010-08-04T14:35:00.000+01:00

Lot 138 from Rhaeadr purchased for 12000gns

The things we bought him for were -

1) Excellent carcass

2) Brilliant colours

3) No black wool round his neck

4) He has a leg in each corner and no long feet.

5) Tremendous lift and style but has an excellent top and shoulder

6) Silky hair on his head and legs

7) He was the best sheep at the sale all round

I look forward to using him on all the Slwaybank Special One gimmers plus a nice selection of the ewes with the rest going to Castello again as he has improved the quality of the stock greatly.

The Future of The Northern Area Sale

2010-08-03T16:42:00.001+01:00

As the dust settles on another sale at Edinburgh the question still remains about how we can improve the trade for Suffolk sheep.

This year we only managed to sell 122 lambs at the sale which is 30 down on last year.

There were some good commercial sheep at the sale but breeders don't want to buy them and because there are not many commercial purchasers at the sale they remain unsold.

We then have the fact that there are fewer people with sheep in Scotland that want early commercial lambs.

So far this year I have had to spend 4 days away from home to sell 14 rams at 2 different sales. With falling member numbers and increased cost put upon us from the society do we really need so many sales?

Could the suffolk breed do with one sale at Carlisle for everyone to go to for a night time show followed by a sale during the day or vice versa.
The date would be around the end of July or start of August.

The Society could then have a sale later in the year at Shrewsbury market and one at Stirling market so that we can catch a commercial trade.
Nothing can touch the suffolk breed for growth and flesh but we still can't see the wood for the trees when it comes to arranging sales.

The use of Ai and Et has had an effect on the trade for Suffolk rams from breeders but it is a tool that I need to enable us to keep our suffolk sheep and get them all lambed in January.

Give your opinions and options on what you would like to see being done with the sales and give me any other ideas that you have so that it can be passed on to council.

Mixed trade in Edinburgh for Suffolk ram lambs - Press & Journal

2010-08-01T17:17:00.000+01:00

Mixed trade in Edinburgh for Suffolk ram lambs - Press & Journal

New stock ram

2010-07-31T10:12:00.003+01:00

I have just been given a link to a video of my new stock ram courtesy of Hugh Jones

The Champion was 5000gns sold to Roundacre. Lot 145
Res Champion was lot 43 sold for 20000gns to Conveth and Strathisla.
1st prize ram was lot 44 sold for 4000gns
2nd prize ram lamb from deveronside made 6000gns
3rd prize ram lamb from cairness made 10000gns
4th prize ram lamb from Mark Priestly made 7000gns
5th prize tup lamb which I bought made 12000gns

Edinburgh sale 2010

2010-07-08T21:09:00.000+01:00

The Edinburgh sale catalogue is now available to view here http://www.lawrie-and-symington.com/ftp/sales/lanark/catalogues/577.pdf

189 lambs are entered and for the first time we have sheep for sale that do not have full pedigrees.

It makes you wonder why we need to register our sheep every year with the society when you can sell them as pedigree stock without a full pedigree.

Ewebank Lamb For The National Sale JOD-N118

2010-07-06T23:18:00.000+01:00

This is how you change a tyre on your jeep. One lamb holds the jeep up and the other changes the wheel.

The lamb facing you is JOD-N118 and the ram facing away is my best one FHT-N80 who I might have to put in first at Edinburgh now as he is really motoring.

The National Sale 2010

2010-07-01T18:28:00.000+01:00

I now have the draw for the national sale.
I have highlighted the important flocks of course.
BALLOT VENDOR      RL NO'S

1ST JONES D T                    1

2ND MORRIS WYN            2

3RD EVANS AW                  5

4TH BUCKLEY                    7

5TH DAVIES M                    4

6TH JEFFRIES                      3

7TH EVANS M                     8

8TH LAWRENCE R             4

9TH BROWN J & OTHERS 4

10TH MORRIS A                  1

11TH BIDDULPH                 5

12TH HOLMES C                7

13TH HARDING                  7

14TH WILLIAMS E             2

15TH LUNDY                      2

16TH IRWIN TA                 5

17TH REID P                        2

18TH DOUGLAS J              10

19TH PEEL                           2

20TH WEAVER                    6

21ST PROCTOR                   8

22ND FRANCIS RICH       2

23RD HALL/EGGLESTON 2

24TH CREEPER                   2

25TH BRADSHAW            3

26TH SAMUEL                   3

27TH BLUNT                     1

28TH COUNTY TURF       4

29TH DENBY                    3

30TH SINNETT                  12

31ST PINNY                     6

32ND THOMAS K           5

33RD INMAN                    3

34TH BARBOUR I             6

35TH ECKETT                   2

36TH WILSON R               9

37TH OWEN G                  5

38TH WILSON ANGUS    5

39TH KEY                          6

40TH STUART GL             6

41ST HOLMES RF             6

42ND LUPTON                  1

43RD BARBOUR J             6

44TH COX                          8

45TH DARLING                 4

46TH GARNER                   2

47TH EVANS SA                1

48TH TOOZE                      4

49TH MORRIS GG             7

50TH JONES DARREN      3

51ST COLLINGS               2

52ND SOULSBY                4

                                          228

Solwaybank Santana

2010-06-30T21:59:00.000+01:00

Solwaybank Santana and Baileys Bugatti were looking good tonight so I took a quick video of them.
Santana is the ram on the left.

Almost Ready For The Highland

2010-06-22T19:17:00.000+01:00

The sheep are now ready for the highland show on Thursday.
We have an aged ewe, 2 gimmers and a ewe lamb to go upto the show.
It looks like it could be a really strong show this year with all the top UK breeders attending.

Last year we were reserve champion so one place higher would be very nice indeed.

Lanark Club Show 2010

2010-06-20T16:23:00.000+01:00

Our show ewe was once again the champion at the 2010 West & Central club show.
First prize aged ram was Baileys Bugatti on his first ever time out at a show.
First prize ewe lamb was sired by Cairness Castello and our Glenhead Infusion gimmer that was 3rd at Ayr was 2nd prize.

It has been another successful show for us and now we can look forward to the highland show.

This years sale plans

2010-06-16T17:17:00.000+01:00

Well I have finally made up my mind about what sales to attend with the lambs.

The plan is that Solwaybank will have 6 lambs at the National sale and 6 lambs at Edinburgh.
Ewebank will have 6 lambs at the National only and they will be her best ones.

National sale lambs are FHT N29 N87 N77 N69 N57 N74
JOD N12 N14 N17 N40 N78 N118

Edinburgh lambs are FHT N97 N44 N19 N80 N67 N106

Simply click on their numbers to view their details.

Royal Bath & West Show 2010

2010-06-07T23:49:00.000+01:00

What happened with the ewe class at the show? Was it just rained off?

After enduring two years of torrential rain and floods, we had fabulous summer weather for a change at the Bath & West. Michael Weaver had a good entry of suffolks to judge and had an “interesting” day when, due to 'outside intervention', he was unable to judge the aged ewe class.

Suffolk Sheep Sales 2010

2010-06-03T14:48:00.000+01:00

This year we will be offering most of our lambs for sale at the National sale held at Shrewsbury on the 23/24th of July. I am still waiting on my entry forms but no on seems to know when they will be out or when they will close.

Last year the Shrewsbury sale was very strong with a great commercial demand so we will hopefully enjoy a good trade for our Cairness Castello ram lambs.

We might take 3 lambs to the Edinburgh sale but we are still unsure about if it is worth going to the sale as the commercial trade is very poor in comparison and the costs are sky high for attending.

The Carlisle sale which is now in conjunction with the Northern Counties of England has the potential to be the best sale of the whole lot due to its location, but it is just a week too late for the serious breeders who will already have ai'd.

Ayr Show Results 2010

2010-05-08T23:05:00.002+01:00

The first of the big shows in Scotland took place today and I am pleased to report that it was a great day for the Solwaybank and Ewebank flocks.
Overall Suffolk champion was a ewe lamb sired by the 62000gns Cairness Castello and out of a Stockton Savannah mother JOD-F9. This is the 3rd time that a member of the same family has won the show which is a remarkable result. Picture
First prize ram lamb was also by Cairness Castello out of a Glenhead Morangie ewe FHT-H21. This ram is from the most successful line in the Solwaybank family which has produced Solwaybank Insignia,Solwaybank Salute,Solwaybank Emperor and many other top sheep.
First Prize gimmer was sired by Solwaybank Special One and out of a Solwaybank Stylemaster mother FHT-J99.

Ashley Bothwell lifted the reserve championship with a Stockton Savannah ewe out of a Solwaybank bred mother. This ewe has had a succesful show career and it is nice to see a young breeder doing well.

Suffolk lambs top Carlisle primestock sale.

2010-04-22T19:00:00.000+01:00

The first lambs to be sold from the 62000gns Cairness Castello proved their commercial merit when the were sold to a top of 302.3p per kilo.
These 42kg lambs are just what the market are after and the outlook for Suffolk sired lambs is on the up.

Shocking Weather

2010-03-30T17:34:00.000+01:00

Constant rain and a forecast for snow is the last thing anyone that is lambing wants to hear but thankfully we are finished.
The lambs off my new Cairness ram are looking good but this weather is knocking them backwards.
I got the new year book yesterday and at the local suffolk club meeting we all had a bit look through it.

Lambing Finished for 2010

2010-02-20T21:26:00.000Z

That is this years lambing over.
It has been a testing lambing just because of the cold weather but the vigour of the lambs off my Cairness ram have been tremendous.
They have lambed really easy and 90% of lambs were presented properly and could lamb themselves.
The Cairness ram himself is looking good and his progeny seem to have all of his attributes.
Lets hope that the demand for Suffolk rams continues this year and we return to the top of the commercial tree.

New Purchase

2009-11-28T18:12:00.002Z

I bought the top price gimmer at the annual Baileys production sale.
She was lot 64 and she cost 2800 euros which I thought was a very nice price.
The next top price was 2600 euros for lot 30.
The standard of sheep was said to be very high but the recession has hit Ireland badly this year.

Banning AI and ET work by the suffolk sheep society

2009-10-27T18:51:00.004Z

I heard the other day that banning the use of AI and ET work was under consideration by the suffolk sheep society!!!!
What do they put in their tea at these meetings?
The most laughable part about it was that they have phoned the AI companies and asked them to provide the details of how many sheep they AI and flush so that they can use the figures at their next meeting to discuss banning it. Talk about turkeys voting for christmas.

Sale catalogues are out

2009-10-27T18:26:00.004Z

Well the sale season is upon us again.
Tonight we see the dispersal of the Laurelbank flock and then we have a collective sale of females at Carlisle next week followed by the dispersal sale of the Castlewellan flock.
I wish all the sellers the best of luck with their sales.

Now moving on to a major gripe I have and that is again increased charges by the society.
The societies decision to use the Basco system is costing us money for every sheep that is added to the database. It will now cost 50p per lamb for birth notification but they are free if you do them online which is unfair on people who have no access to the internet.
After speaking to some members they say that they will be paying no extra charges because they are going to pull out of the society and join a new register of suffolk sheep to record their pedigrees which are totally valid according to trading standards.
This new register will allow people to record their pedigrees for a fraction of the cost of the suffolk sheep society and make them eligible for inclusion in any pedigree sale.
You only have to look at the dispersals and major flock reductions this year to see the effect the society charges are having on its members.
We need to slash the wage bill and drop the NMR recording people and get the registrations back in house at our office in Malvern which has been left empty as far as I know and is the members biggest assest.
We need a back to basics approach of registering only the animals that will be used for pedigree breeding.

Video of my 62000gns suffolk ram

2009-08-19T22:58:00.002+01:00

Thanks to hugh Jones for filming this at the sale this year of our new stock ram.

Carlisle ram sale

2009-08-14T08:54:00.002+01:00

Today is the suffolk ram sale at Carlisle so I hope it will be a flyer.
There is more and more talk about moving the northern area branch sale to Carlisle now as members realise we have to cut our costs and move to a market.
Pro's for carlisle market are: Central location and beside a motorway, a proper resteraunt that serves fresh food, the Shephards inn next to the market provides a full 3 course meal for £12, more commercial customers, a pub within 2 minutes of the sales ring when refreshments are needed(essential). The market is 2hours from the ferry at Cairnryan and make it easy for Irish sellers or buyers to get there.

Pro's for sale remaining at Edinburgh: as usual the only one is that it is next to the airport( I have never seen a sheep get on a plane yet)

I think it is pretty easy to see what we need to do but the question remains will it happen or are the members happy to let the sale go down the drain.

As for a sales team at the market it would be best to invite David Leggatt and George Purvis to conduct the sale and that would ensure the feel of the Northern area sale continued.

Suffolk sheep sale format

2009-08-05T17:12:00.003+01:00

With the current amount of registered suffolk flocks being around 600 is it worth having all the society sales that are held at the moment?
There are 2 sales in Ireland 1 sale in Wales 3 in England and the best one where the breeders bur their rams is Edinburgh.
The Edinburgh sale has been the leading sale for as long as I have had sheep but with the restrictions placed on Irish buyers this year it took the shine off the sale.
I think now the ideal format would be for 1 sale in Ireland and that would be at the time that the national sale is on which would be the week before Edinburgh.
The Edinburgh sale and the national sale along with Skipton should be made into one sale and held at Carlisle in the last week of July or first week of August.
This would mean if you were buying or selling a ram in mainland UK that we would all be in the same place at the same time. You could have an entry of 400-500 rams and that would create more interest and make it worth while for people to travel.
All areas would moan and complain about losing their branch sale but I would propose that they hold a sale later in the year that would be more focused to commercial buyers.
I await all of your comments and if you can think of any improvements then feel free to post.
Many of the top breeders I have spoken with support this idea and hopefully it will not take the suffolk sheep society too long to realise they need to change things for the better.

Pictures of Edinburgh sale

2009-08-03T22:16:00.002+01:00

Here is a link to pictures of the rams at the Edinburgh sale.

Edinburgh ram sale

2009-08-01T18:58:00.003+01:00

Well there was a good trade for the very best rams at the Edinburgh ram sales this year. The top price was 62000gns and was purchased by Solwaybank and Ewebank.
The lamb was from cairness and was lot 169 which had earlier stood in the show as reserve champion but should have easily won the show.
The ram is regarded as the best we have ever bought and Jimmy Douglas of Cairness believes it to be the best he has ever sold.
The ram was fertility tested today and he is 5 out of 5 so all looks well for our Ai day.
The champion lot 70 sold for 10000gns and Solwaybank was the under bidder knowing that the best ram was still to come.

Poor advertising

2009-07-26T00:24:00.003+01:00

I think alot of people at the sale today would be pleased with the trade but I know one gripe was the lack of society funded advertisement. In the modern world we have papers like the Farmers weekly who do live reports from the sales and shows but there was no one there today. It would surely be easy for a society employee to do a report at the sale and send it to the online forums so that people who can't get to the sale can keep up to date.
High index sheep were also not in demand today and our own non recorded non genotyped lambs averaged 1350gns.
Nothing seems to have changed for the better so far but we need more coverage in papers of the real suffolk sheep that people in this country are breeding and producing. Rookery had a wonderful sale and Flodden had a good lamb at 3000gns.
There is hope for the future but the society needs to open the biscuit tin and spend money wisely on advertising that will benefit everyone in the society and not just a small minority of breeders.

Sale success

2009-07-26T00:22:00.001+01:00

Solwaybank and Ewebank had a great sale at shrewsbury today.
Solwaybanks top price was 3400gns for lot 202 and 4 sons of Solwaybank Special One averaged 1350gns.
Let just hope that the Edinburgh sale can be as good.

Edinburgh sale

2009-07-23T08:50:00.003+01:00

News on good ram lambs is few and far between. People that have been to see the wonder lambs this year have reported that there are no wonder lambs but that most people have strong pens of lambs. The north of Scotland is strong again and so is the south of Ireland. No news of anything any good in England and a few stories of good lambs in Wales.
If you know of any good lambs post in the comments section and lets see if you are right come sale time.

Getting ready for the national sale

2009-07-23T08:47:00.003+01:00

Well sale time is almost here. I have put the lambs into the shed to keep them dry and will start to tidy them up today for the sale on Saturday.
I have been drawn 3rd last in the sale so I have to say that I am expecting a poor trade but I will still take the sheep.

South of Ireland suffolk show

2009-06-30T21:32:00.002+01:00

Champion at the south of Ireland championships was Tom Baileys 1 crop ewe.
First prize ewe lamb was presented by Tom Bailey and was sired by Solwaybank Special One. Here is a link to some pictures of the show

Favourite Tup Lamb

2009-06-13T21:47:00.001+01:00

Just a short clip of my favourite ram lamb sired by Solwaybank Special One out of a Solwaybank Ranger ewe.

Northumberland Show Champion

2009-05-27T17:39:00.003+01:00

More success for Solwaybank and Ewebank on Bank holiday Monday. The champion on this occasion was a gimmer by Baileys Masterpiece that I purchased last year from the Carragh flock. First prize ram lamb and male champion was sired by Perrinpit Physique out of a grimaldi ewe. First prize ewe lamb was sired by Solwaybank Setanta. We also won first prize with our group of 3. All the sheep we had were first prize and shows the quality of our stock is as good as ever.

Edinburgh ram sale

2009-05-20T19:38:00.002+01:00

The sale entry forms came through my door on Monday and I opened the letter up to see what was inside. At first glance I thought everything was ok but after discussing some of the new vaccination rules with friends we soon realised something was wrong. On the Suffolk sheep society website it clearly states that:- Society representatives have been trying to get concrete guidance from the relevant veterinary authorities on the correct procedures to follow. These issues will have particular relevance for our Edinburgh sale, Professor Charles Milne, Chief Veterinary Officer (Scotland) has provided these comments.

Implications of bluetongue vaccination regulations on movements of sheep into Scotland from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

•England, Wales and Scotland are part of the bluetongue 8 Protection Zone. There are no restrictions of movement of sheep and cattle within the Protection Zone. Animals may be moved from England and Wales, however they have to be vaccinated within 14 days of arrival into Scotland. Vaccination is not required if the new keeper has documentary evidence that the animals were vaccinated before arrival. Vaccination by a vet is not required.

•Sheep from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland can be moved into Scotland without restriction. They must be vaccinated within 14 days after arrival. As Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are not within the bluetongue 8 Protection Zone, animals from these areas can not be vaccinated prior to movement.

I thought that things seemed very clear on the website but the letter says that all sheep must be vaccinated for blue tongue by your vet which is happening in Scotland but not in England and Wales.
If you are intending on bringing stock to the sale please ensure that you have read the rules and for further guidance contact Michael Black.

All of these measures are being taken to allow exports of lambs from the sale to Ireland but as my vet informed me all livestock that is exported will have to spend 60 days in solitary isolation so will anyone buy them anyway?

Top Trade at Carlisle

2009-05-20T19:29:00.003+01:00

The trade for prime sheep was as good as ever for our cast ewes and prime lambs. Not for the first time we topped the cast ewe prices and lamb prices with February born lambs that were reared on grass and taken straight off the ewes on the morning of the sale.The fast growth rate and easy fleshing nature was evident at the sale and many of the ring side buyers commented on the quality of our stock being ideal for purpose.
All of our achievements are done without the expense of recording and we only use 100% UK genetics to achieve success in the show ring and in the market place year after year.

Ram Lambs

2009-05-15T22:38:00.006+01:00

A few random pics of some ram lambs this year.

New Stock Ram?

2009-05-15T21:36:00.001+01:00

One of my favourite lambs of the year sired by Solwaybank Special One and out of a Solwaybank Ranger daughter I purchased from the Glenho flock a few years ago.
He has a tremendous presence and outlook matched to a set of perfect legs and great carcass. He is one of the fleshiest lambs I have ever seen and maybe I should just keep him.

Ayr Show Triumph

2009-05-10T21:44:00.001+01:00

Well this weekend saw one of the biggest shows in the UK start off the showing season and Both Solwaybank and Ewebank were to the fore taking champion and reserve champion and winning every single class possible at the show.
The Results.
First Prize aged ram - Solwaybank Sovereign - Dam FHT-C31 by Grimaldi
First Prize ewe and Champion HJW-J6 by Rossi
First Prize gimmer JOD-K15 by Meikleson Impression - Dam JOD-F16 by Grimaldi
First Prize ewe lamb JOD-L27 by Solwaybank Setanta
First Prize ram lamb FHT-L91 by Solwaybank Special One - Reserve champion
First Prize Group.

On the Sunday the show had the interbreed championship and J6 took the title.
Just as when we thought our weekend could get no better J6 then went on to be crowned the champion of champions beating all the other livestock at the show.
No sheep has ever won the title before.

It just shows that our policy of breeding the best by selecting the best works.
No need for recording figures, No New Zealand blood just normal well bred UK suffolks. Nothing can beat a good Suffolk.

Solwaybank Females For Sale

2009-02-19T17:55:00.000Z

I have a huge selection of top females for sale this year at prices to suit all pockets.
Please email me at mail@solwaybanksuffolks.co.uk for a list of them all.

How has your lambing gone?

2009-01-08T16:57:00.000Z

This years lambing has been a great success.
We have great lambs off Ewebank Armani, Baileys Bugatti, Solwaybank Setanta and Solwaybank Special One.
So tell me how you have got on with your lambing.

Latest Suffolk News

2008-12-11T17:31:00.000Z

I heard on the grapvine last night that the suffolk sheep society is down to around 600 members since they have increased the subscription fee to £65+vat from £48+vat.
In a time when finances are so tight it is beyond belief that they increase the charges to the members.
I am still waiting on my subscription coming through the post!!!
I will be lucky to get 10 months use out of a years membership.
Breed promotion has been cut to £20000 and we are to have no stands at any of the
Royal shows to promote the breed on.

Baileys In Lamb Female Sale

2008-12-03T17:38:00.000Z

I went to the Baileys sale on Saturday.
To say my day was eventful was an understatement.
I flew out at 8.20am from Edinburgh to Dublin but the plane made 2 failed attempts at landing due to severe fog.
The pilot announced that we would fly to Cork!!!!
He could not have chosen an airport that was further away than that.
Ryanair kicked us off the plane and told us to make our own way to dublin.
I had the choice of a 3hour train ride or a 5hour bus ride.
I took the train and arrived an hour late for the sale. I was not pleased.
On the good side I managed to buy the best sheep in the sale for £7000 over the phone from the train.
She is a tremendous rossi daughter in lamb to my 32000gns Solwaybank Special One.
I am looking forward to lambing time now.

ALS'NOW Sale at Carlisle market.

2008-11-28T17:35:00.000Z

Purchased 2 tremendous ewes today at the Reduction sale of the Als'now flock.
The first was sired by Glenisla Grimaldi and is the twin sister to the 16000gns Als'now Aristocrat.
The other sheep was a Gimmer sired By Glenhead Commander out of a Solwaybank Insignia daughter.
both will provide my flock with 2 new bloodlines to breed from.

Export to Belgium

2008-10-29T09:13:00.000Z

We were able to export 5 ewes and a stock ram to Toon Decock in Belgium last week.
The stock ram was Ewebank Armani and he is the full brother to the 2006 interbreed champion at the great yorkshire show.
The 5 ewes were in lamb to the 32000gns Solwaybank Special One owned by Tom Bailey.

Exporting sheep

2008-10-11T16:10:00.000+01:00

i have got suffolk sheep to go To belgium and what a lot of paper work you have to fill in and send off.
8 pages to fill in and tag numbers to record and vets details the list goes on and on.

Solwaybank suffolks

2008-10-10T18:24:00.000+01:00

The award-winning Solwaybank Suffolk Sheep flock is raised on the banks of the Solway Estuary in Scotland, and is one of the highest quality pedigree Suffolk flocks in the world.
The Solwaybank flock had the top priced ram at the Edinburgh Ram Sale and the top average of £11,585.
Pedigree Suffolk Rams and Ewes are available for sale privately, at prices to suit all pockets.
Semen from past and present Solwaybank Suffolk sires is also available.
Carragh Unique purchased for 7500gns in 2006. Sired by the 30000gns Stockton Savannah and out of a top Solwaybank ewe FHT/ A58 by Glenisla Grimaldi.
Meikleson Maseratti sired by the best stud ram in the Uk Meikleson Impression. Purchased last year for 5000gns.
Perrinpit Physique is one of the best Solwaybank Ranger sons we have seen. Sire of lambs to £700 this year.

Semen for Sale
Cairness Jim'll Fix It
£10
Cairness Cosworth
£10
Cairness Conundrum
£10
Carragh Unique
£20
Dalhousie Last Chance
£10
Ewebank Armani
£50
Ewebank Enigma
£20
Ewebank Elite
£15
Glenhead Morangie
£30
Glenhead Grandmaster
£30
Glenhead Ganymede
£15
Greyhill Sir Wallace
£10
Strathisla Scallywag
£10
Strathisla Stemster
£10
Solwaybank 306
£10
Solwaybank Stylemaster
£15
All prices per dose. VAT to be added at 17.5%.

Suffolk sheep are a larger breed renowned for good quality meat and for being strong and hardy. The Suffolk rams are often crossed with ewes to improve meat production.
The Suffolk breed has now developed to produce quality prime lamb although historically were known for good mutton build.
Suffolks are now exported all over the world to the leading sheep producing countries.
The Suffolk breed is recognised by the black face, black legs and hornless head.
Solwaybank Suffolks are MV Accredited registered.
Maedi Visna (MV) accreditation is a voluntary national scheme to prevent MV disease in sheep.
MV is a viral disease present in most sheep producing countries and has been in Britain for approximately 20 years.
Suffolk flock owners should always source replacement sheep from MV accredited flocks.
Solwaybank Suffolks are also certified as Scrapie free.
http://www.solwaybanksuffolks.co.uk/