IF you ’ re going to be beaten in the show ring it is an easier pill to swallow if the champion happens to be an animal you ’ ve sold and that ’ s exactly what happened for John Eggleton of High Moor Farm just out of Meltham at this year ’ s Great Yorkshire Show when his Derbyshire Gritstone was placed reserve behind Jim and Christine Scriven ’ s tup .

‘ I don ’ t like losing but you don ’ t mind it as much when you ’ re beaten by one you ’ ve bred . We sold him for the second top tup price at last year ’ s breed sale at Clitheroe , so we certainly can ’ t complain , Jim and Christine had got him looking really well .’

‘ Breeding quality tups to sell for good prices at the main registered breed sale over in Clitheroe in early October is our focus and we ’ ve had breed champion there many times . If you are breeding good tups it follows that you must be breeding good ewes as well . We currently have 400 breeding ewes and breed all our own replacements . We produce purebred Derbyshire Gritstones and cross some with the Texel tup to create good lambs that sell well mainly as stores at Holmfirth mart but also fat lambs .’

‘ You get a decent lamb out of a Grit X Texel far better in my opinion than a Texel X Mule . It ’ s the good thick body that does the trick .

74912 - Neil J Bland Chartered Surveyor - 8TH . pdf 1 01 / 08 / 2018 11:25:25

‘ We sold 15 tups at Clitheroe last year selling mostly shearling tups . That ’ s where the main market is for Grits and where the buyers attend . The best tups are still more likely to be bought by the bigger breeders as they have more use for them but the influx of new breeders , some of whom may have bought a house with land and perhaps have 10-20 ewes initially as grass munchers , has also led to greater demand as interest grows in rare breeds . They now want the best they can buy and are showing a greater interest in the breed .’

The breed is ideal for those who want to get involved as Grits can be purchased at a far easier price range than if newcomers were

trying to get into Texels .

Grits have been on an upward curve on numbers ever since it was announced they had slipped on to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust ’ s watchlist . John , who is head of commercial operations for a scholarly publishing company based in Bradford , put together the breed ’ s website .

The Derbyshire Gritstone originated , according to the society ’ s handbook , on the hills of the Dale of Goyt , today referred to as the Goyt Valley on the edge of the Peak District around 1770 . Known in its early days as Dale O ’ Goyt sheep it is thought it was developed by crossing the native Limestone sheep with the Whitefaced Woodland and then further

improved by Merino rams imported from Spain by the Duke of Devonshire to be used by his tenants grazing in he High Peak area from 1810 . By 1850 farmer breeders were establishing uniformity in the breed aiming for a hardy , disease resistant animal that could withstand harsh winters on poor ground and produce a lively lamb . The Derbyshire Gritstone Sheepbreeders Society was formed in 1906 .

‘ We ’ re part of the Derbyshire Gritstone Sheepbreeders Society . The breed has had some lean times but it ’ s on the up at the moment . When we started they were in fashion and today they are in the best shape I feel they have ever been . The Grits born in

74900 - Keith Drake Ltd - 16th . pdf 1 21 / 08 / 2018 12:06:07

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ANIMAL FEED SUPPLIERS

Everyone at Drakes would like to wish the Eggleton family best wishes for the future .

Keith Drake Ltd , Honley Mill Newtown Honley , Huddersfield , HD9 6PQ