This year’s National Texel Sales, at Ballymena, Lanark, Welshpool and Worcester will once again feature a high quality offering from many of the breed’s leading flocks, including a high proportion of performance recorded rams, many in the top 10% of the breed for key commercial traits.
Speaking ahead of the sales Society chief executive John Yates said the National sales would once again offer something for both pedigree and commercial breeders looking to improve their stock.
“While undoubtedly the salse, which are the pinnacle of the breed’s busy autumn sales period, will see some high prices as breeders fight it out to secure the best possible genetics, they will also offer commercial breeders the chance to secure rams suited to producing premium priced lambs,” he explained.
“For a number of years we’ve seen commercial buyers taking large numbers of rams from the National sales to use in both early and later lambing flocks with the aim of breeding superior carcassed lambs which finish off low inputs.
“These buyers are the backbone of the sales and come back time and again because they know they can secure the type of sheep they need to farm profitably,” he added.
And demand for performance recorded rams from both pedigree and commercial buyers is growing year on year, with purchasers willing to pay significant premiums for rams with the right figures to leave lasting improvements in their lambs, said Mr Yates.
“At last year’s sales performance recorded ram lambs earned significant premiums over unrecorded ram lambs, demonstrating the demand for those sheep with top end performance.
“There is a clear appetite for structurally correct, well fleshed lambs backed up by proven performance and buyers will pay a premium and put their faith in Texel rams to deliver the goods year after year.”
Mr Yates says demand for Texel rams is as strong as ever, with the main attraction for pedigree and commercial breeders alike the large volume of rams on offer from a wide variety of the UK membership.
“Throughout this spring and early summer when lamb prices have unfortunately been somewhat depressed it has been Texel sired lambs which have been in demand from buyers at live markets across the country.
“We have regularly seen Texel cross lambs earning premiums of more than 20p/kg across the UK and it is this ability to command the best prices which keeps commercial breeders coming back for Texels. Added to that Texels have the ability to lay down cover at every growth stage, meaning they can be finished at a variety of weights to suit market demands and grass availability,” said Mr Yates.
Catalogues for all the National sales as well as Club sales can be downloaded from the Sales page of this website
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