Export deal mean future of North Country Cheviot looks bright

Top Scottish breeders Roderick Runciman and Andrew Polson were selected to export semen across the pond after US breeders expressed a desire for Caithness and border-type genetics.

The move follows President Biden’s scrapping of the beef and lamb import ban in September 2021, which had been in place since 1989 due to fears over the UK outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

As well as meat, the ban included semen and embryos, meaning the US gene pool for native breeds such as the North Country Cheviot has been severally restricted for more than three decades.

Andrew, who runs the Smerlie flock in Caithness, described being asked to provide semen as an honour as he has only established his flock in recent years.

He returned to Northies in 2012 after a 25-year break, but has since established himself as one of the UK’s top breeders.

He said: “I was contacted directly by a breeder in the States whose grandfather was from Caithness. He had studied agriculture at university in Scotland, too, and visited sales in Caithness, so he knew what he was looking for.

Roderick Runciman with this son Lewis at the Lockerbie sale

“They had seen some of my sheep and Roderick’s sheep go into the sale ring and because of that we were asked to supply semen. Roderick has a fantastic track record and it was a great honour for the Smerlie flock to be asked. It’s going to be good for the North Country Cheviot breed and for our fellow breeders.”

Andrew and Roderick both put forward four rams each to donate the semen, with the process being managed by AB Europe, a leading supplier of assisted breeding services to the UK livestock industry.

It involved each ram being placed into isolation and undergoing a range of tests before the semen could be approved for export, which took almost a year to complete.

Roderick said his rams – Sebay Excitable, Pengreos Xcalibre, Allanshaws XR3, and Allanshaw ACDC – were all proven sires and passed the tests with flying colours.

He said: “The Americans are keen to improve the breed and they watch every sale and show and comment on them. They see when you win a show and they seemed to like my type.

“The Scottish blood will widen the gene pool but Rome wasn’t built in a day. It isn’t going to suddenly make them into the quality we see over here but I do think it’s a big step forward to improving the genetics across the pond.”

He added the semen will enhance the characteristics of the American North Country Cheviots.

Roderick said: “I like them to be eye catching and I try to look after their bodies, too. That’s the basics. A lot of folk buy a tup to breed a tup. But I buy a tup to breed females. Females will breed a tup. Always keep the females right as they’re the foundation of every flock.”

Roderick, who has the famous Allanshaws flock, runs 750 North Country Cheviot ewes that scan between 190 per cent to 200 per cent and are capable of raising two lambs even at heights of up to 1,400ft on his farm near Galashiels in the Scottish borders.

He keeps 300 of his ewes pure and the rest are put to a Bluefaced Leicester to produce Cheviot Mules, which he sells privately to a regular client list.

Andrew runs 200 pure bred ewes and sells shearling rams and gimmers at Caithness and Lockerbie. The rams he put forward to donate semen are Smerlie Ambassador, Smerlie Admiral, Smerlie Whisky and Cairnside Brightspark.

Robert MacDonald, President of the North Country Cheviot Sheep Society, said that being able to export semen to the States again was excellent news for breeders on both sides of the pond.

He said: “With the ban in place, American breeders have been restricted by a relatively small gene pool. Now this has opened up they have access to the best Northie genetics in the world, and breeders on this side of the pond have a new potential market. It’s great news for the future of the Northie.”