Southdown News

Newsletter of the Southdown Sheep Society

Issue 2 Autumn 2006

Still Shining

Chelsea Sunshine B9 of 1987, bred by Mrs Jane Ing and now owned by Andrew Beckett from Shropshire, must be something of a record holder! She is now 19 years old and still breeding regularly. Can anyone beat that?

Southdown Sheep Society Annual Field Day

This year the Society’s Field Day and AGM was held at Meens Farm, Halesworth, Suffolk, the home of Gail and Michael Sprake on Saturday August 12th.

This was a special occasion in which more than 100 members, friends and guests joined together in celebrating Clive Pritchard's remarkable achievement of nearly 40 years as Secretary of the Southdown Sheep Society.

The day was a tremendous success with the torrential rain stopping just in time for all of the guests to enjoy a tractor ride to see the All Saints shearling ewes grazing on the out-lying stewardship land.

Guests enjoyed the opportunity to see at close hand this year’s lamb crop, the preparations for tupping and a first class ram, courtesy of Mr. S. Cook.

Members were particularly interested in talking with the vet to the farm, who amongst other things was able to give her first hand experience in dealing with ‘sponging’ in sheep.

Following a lovely lunch, the guest speaker was John Thorley (ex NSA), also Hugh T. Clark, MBE and President Philip Whitcombe spoke as part of the farewell celebrations for Clive.

Clive was presented with a framed citation making him an Honorary Life Member; a framed letter from the Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales wishing him well on his retirement and thanking him for all he has done over the years for British agriculture in general, and the Southdown breed in particular; a digital camera and case, and a limited edition model of a Southdown ram, modelled on the 2005 Royal Show winner.

There then followed the Annual General Meeting of The Society and Chairman Alan Mummery made the presentation of the cups and prizes on behalf of the Council and Society.

Thanks must go to Mr. & Mrs. Sprake and family for holding the Field Day at their farm.

Top Prices in this Year’s Sales

The 2006 sales once again saw some satisfying prices reached around the country.

At the Maidstone Show and Sale the top price of 750 guineas was paid for a shearling ram bred by D. S. & P. Humphrey.

At the Melton Mowbray Show and Sale it was a shearling ram from Messrs. Wakeham-Dawson and Harmer that made the top price of 460 guineas.

The top priced Southdown at the Dolphin Show and Sale was achieved by a shearling ram from P.A. & R.A.H. Whitcombe which fetched 300 guineas.

The NSA Ram Sale (with females) at Builth Wells saw P. Ballard’s ewe take the championship honours.

News from around the Sheep World

Snapshot of The National Flock in 2003

DEFRA has published a report entitled “The Breeding Structure of the British Sheep Industry 2003”.

Similar surveys were carried out in 1971, 1987 and 1996 and although the report is looking at the industry three years ago, by comparing the results with the other surveys there are some interesting changes:

15.2m ewes were mated in 2003, divided evenly between cross-bred and pure-bred sheep. This compares to 68% pure-bred in 1971.

Hill breeds form the largest pure-bred group.

90 breeds were recorded.

52,500 farms with breeding sheep were registered with the British Wool Marketing Board. This represents a 30% fall since only 1996!

Texel rams were mated to the largest number of ewes (3.6m) which represents 23% of the national flock. The Suffolk followed at 3.4m ewes (21.6%)

Neither Texel nor Charollais featured in the 1971 survey.

The Texel is now the largest ram breed and Charollais the fifth.

Almost 67% of the lamb population was produced by ewes with some hill breeding and 30% produced by ewes with terminal sire breeding.

The full report, produced by G E Pollott and D G Stone can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/othertses/ scrapie/nsp/publicatsrpts/pollott2003.pdf (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the file. Adobe Reader 8 can be downloaded free from http://www.adobe.com/)

Given the current interest in the Southdown as a terminal sire within the commercial market, it is not impossible that we might well feature when the next DEFRA report is published!

New Transport Rules - Are you ready?

Are you aware of the new transport regulations that are being introduced from 5th January 2007?

DEFRA states that “From January 5th 2007, anyone wishing to transport animals as part of a business or commercial activity will need to be authorised as an animal transporter.” This is in response to EU Regulation 1/2005 on the Welfare of Animals during Transport.

The regulations are complex and involve different ‘distance categories’ of movement and different types of owner.

If you are a “hobby farmer, where income source does not exceed expenses of hobby,” then the regulations probably do not apply. Likewise if your animals are classed as ‘pets’ you do not need to be authorised as an ‘animal transporter.’

However, it would be worthwhile for all sheep keepers to familiarise themselves with the new regulations.

Details can be found from your local DEFRA office or at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/transport/eu-transportreg.htm

Help Reduce Resistance to Wormers

There remains much concern that the resistance of worms in sheep to anthelmintics (wormers) is increasing.

Some years ago ‘SCOPS’ (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) was commissioned by the NSA to look at this problem. They concluded that on most holdings there will be worms that are resistant to the white (BZ) wormers, while resistance to the yellow ‘LM’ wormers (levamisole) will be less common and resistance to the clear ‘ML’ wormers (macrocyclic lactone) will be rare.

There are simple steps to take to help reduce this resistance:

Good quarantine procedures on any new arrivals to the holding.

When drenching, ensure the correct dosage is used. Drench to the heaviest in the group.

Examine your ‘control strategy’ of why and when you drench. Better targeted worming will save you money on wormer and reduce resistance.

Only drench when needed.

Reduce the need to worm by good grazing management.

Test for resistance by taking faeces samples, (your vet can advise on a simple test,) and then use the most effective wormer against the worm burden in your flock.

Preserve some susceptible worms on your holding. Resistant worms will tend to breed resistant worms!

For further information, there are excellent articles on this subject available from the National Sheep Association http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/health/scops.htm or contact your local vet.

New Class for The Royal

In 2007 the Royal Show is adding an additional class to the Schedule of Southdown classes. There is to be a ‘Group of Three’ class, and the winning Southdown ‘Group of Three’ will go on to compete with over thirty other different breed winners for the overall ‘Group of Three’ championship.

The traditional ‘Group of Four’ Sheep class which compete for the Miller Hallett Perpetual Challenge Trophy is to remain and all of the other Southdown classes remain unaltered.

The Members’ Page – Your News & Views

Use It or Lose It!

If we do not get more support from our members at both Cheshire and Staffordshire County Shows we will lose our classes, and inevitably the shows will suffer.

Although there are quite a few Southdown breeders within travelling distance of these shows there were only two exhibitors at the Cheshire Show. Tom and Lynne Rowlands travelled for 2 ½ hours to compete and in turn Chris and Dave Rhead travelled to Anglesey to support their show.

For the Cheshire we arrived on the Monday night, settled the sheep in, relaxed and chatted whilst having tea. On the Tuesday morning there were the commercial classes; Lynne and Chris held their own in all classes with Chris’s ram going on to take Champion of the Downs breeds. Wednesday was the Rare Breeds’ day; Chris’s ram lamb took the Champion with Lynne’s ewe in reserve. The ram lamb went on to get reserve short-wool Champion.

It is a friendly relaxed show and you need only attend the Rare Breeds’ day if you wish.

So please, we are asking our members to support these shows in order that we can keep our Southdown classes. We are more than happy to help anyone who wishes to attend these shows in any way we can.

Chris Rhead
Light Oak Southdowns
Staffordshire

Congratulations

Congratulations and best wishes to Hugh and Mary Clark, founders of the Moulton Flock, who celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary in July.

We wish them many more healthy and happy years to come.

Our Members Recommend

Books:
“Starting with Sheep – a Beginner’s guide” by Mary Castell, Broad Leys Publishing 2003; recommended by Dr. Jeanie Muddle.

“A Shepherd’s Watch” by David Kennard. Recommended by Gillian Brewin who says, “David Kennard is a tenant farmer with 800 ewes on National Trust property at Mortehoe in North Devon and it’s all there, out in all weathers, footrot, shearing, lambing, etc. With no punches pulled it is a good ‘tell it like it is’ introduction to shepherding but also with the passion for the job and working outdoors that we all need."

“Showing Sheep” by J. & G. Armstrong. A helpful guide to the basics of preparation for show. Jean and Gerry are long standing Southdown breeders.

“An Introduction to Keeping Sheep” by J. Upton and D. Soden. Recommended by P. Whitcombe who says, “this is extremely well illustrated and contains plenty of good advice”. Pub. by Farming Press Books.

Videos:
“Lamb Survival” by David Henderson. Member Sarah Cartwright says she found this very helpful indeed. “I refer to it over and over again. It is sadly out of print but I managed to get a copy in 2005 from Old Pond Publishing in Ipswich. Previously I had been borrowing a neighbour’s copy!”

Thoughts on Judging the Flock Competition

Dear Members and Friends,

I was honoured to be asked to judge the flock competition.

The first thing I must say is how pleasing it was to see so many good sheep; yes, they are bigger but I thought the quality was still there. Every flock had some good ewes in it, and some were just missing that “good ram” to finish the job for them. I could see that there were plenty of good shearling ewes coming into the flocks, also many ewe lambs, this is all good for the breed.

There were many excellent rams, one breeder having the cream. Some of the rams’ mouths were not good and we have to watch this. I know they don’t ‘die from it’ but it’s not good for the breed.

I was looking for a flock of matching sheep, the top flocks had this. My champion flock was all of a “type”, the shearling ewes blended in with the ewes, and likewise the ewe lambs, the ewes were big strong ewes with deep, long bodies.

I would like to thank all the breeders for looking after Patsi and myself so well, and making it an enjoyable time for us both.

I must mention the Irish flocks. It was pleasing to see four entries in the competition, and I thank them for showing me their flocks. All the flocks again had good sheep in them. A big thank you to Maurice Pogue for driving us about and to Ethel for looking after us so well.

The Southdown has been a big asset to the sheep industry in the past and I feel that it is going to be an even bigger asset in the future. Good luck with your flocks in future years.

Jimmy Cresswell

Southdown People: Our First Year of Southdowns in County Down

We first became aware of Southdown sheep when my father happened to meet up with Mr. C. Megaw, whom he hadn’t had contact with for years following regular working contacts, at Castlewellan County Agricultural Show, where he had a very attractive pen of Southdowns on display which really took the eye of not only ourselves but most other people who passed by the sheep pens that day.

About 10 years later we got involved with these charming little sheep. On the annual pilgrimage to Cultra Rare Breed Show and Sale in Belfast we met up with Robert Moore, a Southdown breeder who invited us to his farm near Omagh to view his flock. The date was fixed and in October 2005 we visited Robert and bought two in lamb ewes and three fine ewe lambs.

A short time later we were contacted by Maurice Pogue another Southdown breeder who asked if we would be interested in showing sheep at the local county shows. We hadn’t really considered showing at such an early introduction to the breed, but under persuasive encouragement from Maurice, decided to give it a go.

By the end of August we had succeeded in winning Rare Breed Interbreed Supreme Champion at 5 county shows. Armagh, Saintfield, Omagh, Castlewellan and Antrim. Reserve Champion at Lurgan show with a fine Southdown shearling ewe and as a result of qualifying for the sheep derby final at Cultra Show and Sale, turned out to take the Derby Champion as well.

Shearling Ewe Derby Champion

Cultra 2006 for us also meant winning the Interbreed Ewe Lamb Challenge against 11 other ewe lambs of various rare breeds.

It certainly resulted in a first showing season way above our expectations and more importantly speaks well of the breed, standing as it did in competition with numerous other rare breeds.

My daughter Mollie aged 7 also became bitten by the bug and after a little persuasion decided to show a homebred ram lamb, which won first in class and Reserve Champion at Antrim Show much to her delight.

Mollie with Jimmy at Cultra Folk and Transport Museum

Incidentally, for anyone thinking of showing sheep for the first time we would certainly say, have a go, it’s great craic. The fellow breeders are a friendly and enthusiastic bunch with no shortage of encouragement. If you are showing Southdowns, you don’t necessarily need years of showing experience to collect a few rosettes for the journey home, with these friendly little sheep which are a force to be reckoned with and of which we are very proud.

John Newell (Drumhill Flock)

Southdowns – Demanding To Be Noticed

The Southdown is a breed that demands to be noticed and taken seriously. Farmers at home and abroad are looking carefully at this traditional native breed which many regard as the ideal terminal sire. Even when crossed with the most humble of ewes it is capable of producing quality lambs with good conformation and a high meat to bone ratio which finish easily. Less time on the farm means less feed and more profit. Today’s discerning housewife appreciates an English joint with good traditional flavour and once again the Southdown fits the bill.

This article appeared in the December issue of the South West Farmer - Smithfield Special.

Good News on Ear Tags

Members will be pleased to hear that the UK derogation from EU sheep tagging rules permitting one tag instead of two has been extended until the end of June 2007. The derogation will be reviewed again next year, so it’s important that all sheep producers adhere to the identification and movement rules, and that all records are accurate and up to date. For more information, go to ‘Sheep Practical Pointers’ at www.eblex.org.uk

Publications from the Society Reviewed

A full review of all Southdown publications was undertaken in the October meeting of Council, which decided that several changes were needed.

From 2007, the Flock Book is to be an annual publication; many members have requested this in recent years. The 2007 Flock Book will therefore contain details only of those animals registered in 2006. Please ensure therefore that lamb registrations reach the Office by December 31st!

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The new look Newsletter has been very well received. Building upon this initial success, we intend to publish the ‘Southdown News’ three times each year. The Newsletter is aimed primarily at you, the members of the Southdown Sheep Society. Being published on a regular basis, it enables the Office to pass on important information and news, and it allows you, the readers, to offer feedback and comments. Letters to the editor are welcomed, as are requests, ideas and suggestions. There will some limited space available for adverts.

The rates for these black and white adverts per insertion are:
6cm x 6cm box – £15
6cm x 12cm box – £25
a 10% reduction will apply for inclusion in 3 consecutive newsletters.

Copy date for the next newsletter is 28th February 2007.

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The Yearbook is to assume a new role, it will become the Society’s advertising and marketing publication. It will remain in its current A5 size format. It will carry a full list of ALL breeders, unless a member requests otherwise, and this entry will be free of charge. Breeders will be able to purchase additional advertising space as they require, with rates starting from just £15.

The rates for advertisements (which are black and white) are:
Quarter A5 Page – £15
Half A5 Page – £25
Full A5 Page – £45
Double page Spread – £90
E.g. A4 Size, Landscape

Copy date for the Yearbook February 14th 2007

A Brief AGM Report for Absent Members

The minutes from the 2005 AGM were presented and signed. The Honorary Treasurer, Neil Stainthorpe, presented the accounts for 2005 which were duly signed. The Chairman, Mr. Alan Mummery, presented his report. Four existing Council members, Mr. R. Backshall, Mr. S. Cook, Mr. S. Humphrey and Mr. N. Stainthorpe, were re-elected and two new Council members elected. We welcome Mr. L. Dane and Mr. M. Littmoden on to the Southdown Sheep Society Council.

The retiring President, Mr Philip Whitcombe, handed over the chain of office to Mrs Sharon Pond, the President for 2006-2007. President Elect is Mr. I. Pallister.

Several topics for discussion were raised from the floor and these are being addressed:
The Flock Book will be an annual publication from 2007
The breed description has been revised and will appear in the next edition of the Flock Book.
Council is exploring the possibility of performance recording in order to obtain viable and valid data.
Members unable to be present at future AGMs will be able to request a postal voting form to enable them to place their vote for Council member elections. The closing date for postal votes will be August 1st.

Could You Serve on Council?

There are 18 members on Council. All are elected for a three year term, with six members being elected or re-elected annually. All paid-up members are eligible to offer themselves for election.

Nomination forms were enclosed with this newsletter. A proposer and seconder are needed, and a few lines saying why you would like to stand for Council, which will be included on the voting paper.

The election of Council members takes place at the AGM, but members unable to attend can request a postal voting form from the Office. Postal votes must be received by August 1st. The closing date for receipt of nomination forms is 1st April 2007.

Melton Mowbray Show & Sale

The annual show and sale saw a large number of sheep entered, from 22 breeders up and down the country. The show, which took place on the Friday, was well supported, with judge Bob Backshall awarding the Championship to a shearling ram from C.T. & P.M. Mannering. This ram went on to gain the Reserve Supreme Championship title.

In total 133 sheep were entered into the sale, although one third of these were not actually forward on the day. The sale saw a brisk trade in females of all ages, the rams being more difficult to sell.

Vendors are encouraged to ensure that the animals entered are forward on the day; this is a nationally advertised sale and potential purchasers sometimes travel considerable distances to buy stock.

The Council has decided that in line with some other breeds, the advertised minimum weights will apply and all stock will be inspected after unloading, prior to the show and sale.

Protecting the Genetic Heritage of the Southdown

In the previous issue we highlighted the need for semen collection from Southdown rams, under two different schemes. The NSP Semen Archive has now fulfilled its quota and has harvested sufficient semen from a variety of Southdown rams.

However, the scheme set up by the RBST, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust ReGENEration Appeal still needs suitable rams of ALL genotypes, so there is still time to take part. For more information please contact Claire Barber or Dawn Teverson at RBST on 024 7669 8762.

Chichester Southdown Sale August 12th – 13th 1925

Entries for the Chichester Southdown sale comprised 7,500 ewes, 1,000 rams and ram lambs and 4 flocks. A team of judges took 2 days to work through all the entries, in an interesting array of classes: classes such as 50 regular draft ewes, born 1921, from flocks of 350 and over, pen of 5 shearling rams (which all had to match!), pen of 20 shearling ewes, and classes for single animals too.

Many of the names of the successful exhibitors will be known to society members, as several of these breeders have splendid trophies in their names which are awarded annually to the winners of the major shows and annual flock competition: Sir William Bird, W.F. Rudwick, B.J. Dare, Maurice Tupper, Edward Hobgen, H. Paynter, Walter Langmead.

Top price of the day was 110 guineas, paid by Mr John Langmead for one of Lady Ludlow’s shearling rams – Luton Hoo 835 of 1924. The top price for ram lambs was 62 guineas, paid by Mr Alex Scott for one of the Earl of Derby’s lambs.

[Note: 110 guineas in 1925 would in 2005 have been worth £4,388.33 using the retail price index, while 62 guineas would have been worth £2,473.42 using the retail price index. Information from http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/]

Bolus Readers

Following the introduction of the National Scrapie Plan, DEFRA loaned to the Society two bolus readers/scanners. These are available for use by all members, simply contact the Office if you need to borrow one.

Unfortunately, one Gesreader appears to have been misplaced. If anyone happens to have it somewhere, please could you contact the office to arrange for its safe return.

A Friendly Reminder

Lambs must be registered in the year of their birth, the deadline being December 31st in the year in which they are born.

Late registrations in the year following birth cost £20 per sheep. After that animals cannot be registered.

Caption Competition

The best caption for the following photograph sent to the Society’s office will win a Polo Shirt!

Congratulations to Lesley Mead who sent in the winning caption for this photograph in the last newsletter.

“First a tie, and then a small flock of Southdowns, Sir?”

Southdowns Supreme in the Shows

Supreme Champion at the Surrey Show, Bred by D. Bunting

Champion Group of Three at The Welsh Smallholder & Garden Show. Bred by J. Roland Williams

Champion of the Heathfield Show & Champion of the Maidstone Show & Sale, where he was sold for 430 guineas. Bred by Mr. J. Long

Supreme Champion at the Hertfordshire Show. Bred by B. Cooper

Best in Show at the Moreton-in-Marsh Show. Bred by H. Burgess-Biggerstaff

Supreme Champion at the South of England Show Bred by J. Long