She may be known as the ‘Queen of the Hills’ but she’s still got to earn her keep and it’s no different for the Swaledale ewes at Buddle House whose Texel-sired offspring have been used to build a prolific and, just as importantly, profitable flock for some years now.
It’s a decision that may raise some eyebrows even now but the Lawson family have been using Texel rams on their Swaledales ewes since the 1980s to produce what is sometimes known as a Texdale rather than using a Bluefaced Leicester to produce North of England Mules. This was a move that was definitely ahead of its time back then but is certainly reaping the rewards during a period when every penny counts.
The Lawsons’ history lies in these fells, as Brian’s grandfather farmed in the area before World War II and before the British Army obtained the ground which has since been leased to Brian and his wife, Rachel, but is now run by Matthew and his wife, also Rachel, together with sons, Jake and Oscar, both of which take a keen interest in the farm but Jake is also a keen showjumper.
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At Buddle House, near Marske, they own some 35 acres but manage around 3000 acres in total, half of which is fell grazing rising to 1400 feet with 350 acres classed as in-bye ground and the remainder as permanent pasture or allotment grazing.
Here they run around 800 Swaledale ewes with a further 250 gimmers not deemed suitable to breed pure covered by Texel rams, with first and second cross females making up a 1200-strong flock of Texel-sired ewes.
They also have a herd of 60 suckler cows, alternating between British Blue and Limousin sires to produce a strong crop of calves which are sold as weanlings or store calves through Kirkby Stephen with a few heading to Darlington.
“Back in the mid-1980s we were running around 1600 to 1700 Swales with 700 puts to the Bluefaced Leicester, but the sheep trade dipped and the Mule trade took a hammering so we decided to look in a different direction,” explained Matthew, adding that the stress of getting Mule gimmer lambs prepared in the run-up to a sale could often all be in vain if it rained the night before.
Brian continued: “There were a lot of breeders in the area choosing to go down a different ewe path because of the drop in popularity of the Mule, but my father said we can change the tup but not the ewe so it was then we bought our first couple of Texel tups.
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“We’d seen Texels around and thought they looked fit for the job, and they proved to be hardy when lambed outside. We did try a couple of other breeds but nothing matched the Texel – you can guarantee if a ewe lambed a pair on a wall back on a cold morning with some snow on the ground she’d still have a pair the next morning.”
This was certainly an unusual move some 40 years ago and the family still kept on the traditional route of breeding Mules too, but the extra £10 to £15 received when selling those Texel-sired lambs either store or finished proved more than worthwhile.
“Don’t get me wrong, the Mule has certainly secured her premier place in the sheep industry – the Swaledale would be in a very different place without her – but when we took on more acres and were able to run a commercial flock it was the Texdales that proved their worth; she didn’t need to be taken off to be fed through the winter and seemed to thrive on our ground,” pointed out Matthew, with Brian adding that she could easily live alongside the pure Swale ewe.
With an expanding flock of first and second cross Texel Swaledales, the Lawsons were again looking for something a bit different to create the end product – a lamb with excellent conformation that was in demand from fat lamb buyers and finishers.
“In 1997 we bought two Beltex tups from John Hall, Inglewood Edge, and these were proper Beltex so we did wonder if they would manage to do the job but John assured us they would and oh man these lambs were like bullets,” said Matthew.
“We started taking these Beltex lambs bred from the Texdale to the auction and folk had never seen anything like them before. Dave Findlay got in touch with us to do an experiment when Skipton mart had the meat plant and these lambs killed out at 52% and were all E grades, but don’t forget their grandmothers and great-grandmothers were Swales,” he added.
Reaping the rewards, in 2004 lambs were sold directly to Kitson Butchers who were paying 300p per kg deadweight, a hefty price back then, and when wagon loads were taken to Bentham auction they were easily making 190p live.
Comparing the breeds this spring, after a winter on turnips and no hard feed, the finished Texdales were averaging 50kg at £134, compared to the pure Swales at 42kg and £104.
“We’re not doing it to compete with the Mule,” pointed out Brian, “but purely from a commercial point, it’s another string to add to the Swaledale bow. She may not scan at 220% or above but will easily scan 190-200% and is cheap to keep in winter, a real thrive, and a right wick sheep.
“We’re not doing that much different to the boys that buy Mules to put to a terminal sire, we are just taking a more direct route that works for us.”
But as Matthew explains, it takes a certain sort of Texel tup to produce the goods and that sort of tup can be picked up for sensible money.
“You want a Texel to be as long as you can get him with plenty of width right from the shoulder – that’s important – and he needs to have a good hard skin on him. We don’t want a big head, it needs to be a head you can lamb,” said Matthew, adding they regularly buy at Skipton and Carlisle where they have paid up to 5000gns but their most recent purchases cost 1500gns and 750gns.
At the end of the day though, it all comes back to the Swale ewe which is suited to her life in the hills, being hardy and capable of lambing outside unassisted.
There has been a focus on the Swale flock in recent times and significant investment has been made, including the £14,000 Eric Coates ram bought in 2013 which made a big impression in the flock, putting colour back in the head and plenty of bone. He earned his keep by producing the family’s first shearling champion at Hawes which went on to sell for £10,000. The male portion of the flock peaked at £20,000 at Hawes a few years back.
Females, too, have sold well from the Buddle House flock with the team winning the pen of ewes at Hawes on many occasions with one of their greatest achievements being winning at Hawes and Kirkby in the same year. These pens of 10 have reached £1000 selling to David Hume and £650 too.
This year the Lawsons will have around 10 shearling rams and 200 draft ewes on offer, with a larger proportion of ewes retained this year as they ramp up the Texdale numbers again.
The pure flock is certainly paying its way but Brian is keen to point out it relies on producing that fat lamb.
“The most important thing now in sheep farming is the fat lamb and you’ve got to supply what the buyers need,” said Brian.
“My father used to go to tup sales, no matter what the breed and the first thing he would feel was the tail followed by the back then shoulder. You’ve got to remember that, even in the pedigree job, 99% of male lambs are killers so our focus has always been on the lamb trade.”
Lambs are now sold through Skipton, Kirkby Stephen and Bentham markets with around 70% selling store and the remainder wintered through to the hogg season, and the Lawsons are finding it is a lot of repeat customers, particularly those from farm shop businesses, that are buying their stores to meet demand until their own lambs come through again.
Matthew added: “You’re getting a premium for your lambs while also saving on labour. We have three people who all come in part-time. Being on a Ministry of Defence tenanted farm means we have very limited access to the land which therefore doesn’t afford us the time to have with the stock that we would like, and having help available when we have access can be difficult. That’s why the Texdale suits us as she’s the epitome of easy care.”
It may be a more modern take on the crossing job from the hardy Swale ewe, but it’s a system that has worked well for the Lawsons for nigh on 40 years, and with the next generation coming through it’s likely to last the next 40 years at the very least.
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