Texels continued to take pole position in the UK sheep industry during 2022, both at a pedigree and commercial level.
On the commercial front, the country’s major commercial sales proved highly successful for the breed, as Texels took 41% of the sale value at Kelso and 37% of the income at Builth.
Importantly, registered Texels achieved a 79% higher average than their non-registered counterparts at Kelso, highlighting the added value offered by pedigree status.
It is, however, in primestock sales the length and breadth of the country where Texels have really shown their merit, recording premium prices at markets in every corner of the UK
Many sales have seen Texel cross prime lambs selling for as much as 33% more than sale averages, with Texel sired stock of all weights earning the added value prices for which the breed has become famous.
And the same has been true of cull stock too, with Texel sired cull ewes regularly being at the top of the order across the UK
A study completed by Abacus Bio in 2022 on the economic and environmental benefits of Texel sheep genetic improvement, states that, given current trends, expected genetic improvement over the next 20 years will be worth £334m for the UK sheep industry*.
Of this £119m comes from terminal gains and £215m from maternal gains. This is equivalent to £23.5m/year for the next 20 years, in annualised terms*.
Added to this has been the breed’s exceptional performance in AHDB’s RamCompare trial, which has seen Texels claim 14 of the top 20 places in the rankings for overall carcass merit index in the cumulative results from the first six years of the trial**.
Eight of these 14 rank within the top 10 rams over the last six years and four of them are in the top five, proving the breed’s ability to produce carcasses suited to the needs of the modern market**.
Society chief executive John Yates said the breed was continuing to drive forward and meet the needs of the UK sheep sector, with the Society supporting breeders through a number of initiatives and developments.
“The slashing of fees for the Society’s texelplus genetic improvement service, coupled with the upcoming launch of economic indexes specific for the Texel breed are helping breeders make best use of the genetics available within the breed and allowing commercial customers to access accurate and relevant information about the animals they are buying.
He added: “Support of genetic improvement, offers an opportunity to increase future benefits by £16.9m over the next 20 years, or £1.2m/year in annualised terms. This increase comes from a predicted increase in rates of genetic improvement, because of selection on the economic indexes.*
“From this aspect it is important to also note that texelplus recorded ram lambs achieved a 48% higher sale average at the Scottish National Sale than their non-recorded counterparts.
Mr Yates said collaboration and data collection had been at the heart of the Society’s work for a number of years now and is locked into Society strategy as the breed looked to the future.
“Development of data collection and evaluation technologies as well as a better understanding of the impact genetic selection can have is vital for the future of the breed and benefit a sustainable and profitable industry.”
He added that the Society was heavily focussed on production and health traits, with environmental traits also becoming an important focus.
Increases in production rates (i.e. carcass weight) from improving growth rates is diluting the effect of increased gross emissions, resulting in lower emissions intensity from Texel-sired animals (decreasing by 0.06%/year).
He added that finding an environmental and economic balance between selection for faster early growth while maintaining control of ewe size is critical. “Using a selection tool targeting reduced gross emissions and/or emissions intensity is the most efficient way of accounting for the emissions effect of all index traits simultaneously.
“While these are challenging times for the industry, it is exciting to see what the Texel breed is providing enhanced with new services offered to Society members in return for data capture and increased genetic gain.
“It is essential to convert this data to knowledge and sustain data collection across generations to maximise the breeding opportunities it creates. Combining phenotype and genotype data collection is paramount going forwards to increase the impact of the breeding goal.
“Texels remain the number one terminal sire breed in the industry and are also one of the most influential maternal breeds, with more than 17% of all ewes in GB being by Texel rams,” he added.
At a pedigree level demand for the breed’s top genetics continued unabated, with the Society’s flagship sale, the Scottish National Sale, Lanark, seeing three animals sell at 100,000gns or more, a first for the breed.
On top of this the same sale recorded a record ram lamb average of £4831 and saw an 83% clearance rate.
Meanwhile, the English National Sale, Worcester, also saw a record ram lamb average at £1350, with the Northern Irish National Sale, Ballymena, recording a 91% clearance in the ram lambs and the Welsh National Sale, Welshpool, seeing 89% of ram lambs finding new homes.
In-lamb sales also saw demand for top drawer females surge once again, with records set when the Plasucha flock dispersed, setting a new ewe lamb record for the breed at 35,000gns and a new in-lamb aged ewe record at 28,000gns.
Mr Yates said, while the year had provided further volatility for the industry, largely through increased input prices, the Texel breed remained a reliable solution, reliably supporting sheep producers across the UK.
With Society services also improving and another hugely successful sales season for the breed, with more than 12,000 pedigree Texels catalogued on behalf of members for Society, Regional Club and private sales during 2022, giving potential buyers the broadest possible opportunity to source Texel genetics that perform.
Sources; *Abacus Bio Study on behalf of the Texel Sheep Society 2022, *AHDB RamCompare Results 2022