The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2020 - Issue 66 | Page 37

FOULRICE FARM 37 • DEC/JAN 2020 Premier Sheep and Premier Lamb Drench Organically chelated trace element vitamin supplements Not all mineral drenches are the same For more information contact Jonathan Guy T 01886 880482 M 07866 607466 E [email protected] W www.jganimalhealth.com So the Chaollais breed has to step up to the mark and gear up our promotion. We have a breed that has a very important place in the terminal sire market because of its fast early growth and its easy lambing ability.’ ‘That’s where I feel we are with the Charollais breed at the moment. We need to be promoting ourselves better in the market place. We currently have a promotions officer who is doing some excellent work in Wales alerting farmers to the value of Charollais even on Welsh mountain sheep. We need to do the same all over the UK.’ ‘The live market tends to drive prices and demand but our deadweight custom- ers come back for Charollais again and again because their lambs can get away to the market earlier than the other main breeds. This is where everyone looks at what is making money. Charollais can get that money in your pocket earlier.’ Charles’ award doesn’t give him a seat on the council as he had as regional and national chairman and finance and general purposes national chairman in the past over many years but it does give him the option of attending council meet- ings to help shape future policy through offering the benefit of his considerable experience. ‘It allows me the opportunity to keep in touch. I’ve learned a lot over the years and like most before me I’ve principally learned when I’ve made errors, so hope- fully I may be able to try and encourage others to avoid making the same errors. I’m looking forward to attending the meetings.’ Although nearly every- one who has come to know Charles over the past four decades will see him as an inveterate showman with a fabulous show record he had never shown before he and Valerie took on the Charollais. ‘My father thought it was a complete waste of time, so when we started we very tentatively felt our way and needed a lot of encouragement to start showing and to even think we had anything good enough. Fortunately there were plenty of others, principally Suffolk breeders, who were there for us with help and advice and for that we will always be very grateful, especially the Bulmers and a chap called Alan Upton who was Raymond Twiddle’s shepherd.’ ‘Our first show was probably three or four years after we had taken on the breed and one of the first would have been Ryedale Show where we have shown every year apart from when foot and mouth disease restrictions were in place. In 2019 I missed Driffield and the Great Yorkshire shows as I had a knee replacement but we still made it to Ryedale.’ ‘Highlights would have to be winning our first major championship, the inter- breed title at the Great Yorkshire Show in Millennium year. It was its inaugural interbreed championship. We won with a homebred gimmer. Valerie and I were at home working that day and so it was our twin daughters Anna and Deborah who had the privilege of receiving the trophy.’ Charles won the interbreed title at the Great Yorkshire Show once again with a purchased ram in 2015 and has had a number of breed championships at Harrogate. ‘There are some excellent sheep shows in Yorkshire notably Ryedale where we have had champion Charollais and interbreed; and Kilnsey where they’ve had Charollais classes in more recent years and we have been fortunate to win the interbreed title more than once. It’s almost as much of an honour winning there as winning at the Great Yorkshire Show.’ ‘We have been using AI since the late 90s principally as a management aid. I once said we would never AI but I ate my words. We can now have a lambing time in December when we lamb 350 ewes in 10 days, it is all done and finished with and there is no lambing over Christmas, which keeps family relationships right. One year we had 25 ewes lamb on Christmas Day and Valerie said I’d be having Christmas on my own if it ever happened again. Thank goodness for AI!’ ‘Our lambing times are December and March. At least half of our December born lambs go on to the spring market leaving us 90-100 ram lambs to sell and 90-100 ewe lambs to retain as flock replacements.’ Charles picked up his Honorary Life Membership award from North of England Charollais Society chairman David Norman at Skipton livestock market.