Society Matters
Texels smash more records in 2021 As the sheep sector went from buoyant to booming throughout 2021, so too did the Texel breed, seeing new records set at both the English and Northern Irish National Sales and the Texel Sheep Society’s four National Sales once again grossed more than £2m of trade. At the English National Sale, Worcester, a new sale record for a shearling ram was achieved when the Williams family, Lampeter, sold their tup, Caron Dynamite for 32,000gns. This record busting price helped set a new shearling ram average for the breed at Worcester, with an 81% clearance seeing an average of £2552.29, up more than 33% on the previous record of £1905.31 which had been set just 12 months earlier. Meanwhile, at the Northern Irish National Sale, Ballymena, ram lamb Seaforde Egyptian Warrior stole the show when selling for a new centre record of 26,000gns. Once again this, and another five figure sale at 17,000gns, helped the breed record a centre best average of £1300.77 for ram lambs. The breed continued to perform strongly in the commercial sector too, with the latest GB Sheep Breeds Survey showing that Texels accounted for 27.2% of all rams used in the GB National flock, with 26% of all ewes in GB mated to Texel rams. This dominance was also reflected in the national ewe flock, with 15% of crossbred ewes being Texel sired and 12% of all ewes being by a Texel ram. Texel Sheep Society chief executive John Yates said the dominance of the breed was further reflected at major commercial ram sales too, with both Kelso Ram Sale and the Main NSA Ram Sale, Builth Wells, recording strong performances for the breed. “A new sale record of £65,000 for Campsie Drambuie was the headline maker at Kelso, with Texels accounting for 41% of the gross sale value and registered Texel shearlings averaging £1412.72. At Builth Texels accounted for 37% of the total sale and registered Texel shearlings levelled at £935.45.” And while there were no individual record breakers at the in-lamb sales the demand at these was once again exceptional and what
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Texel Bulletin | Spring 2022
is believed to be a new record pen average for in-lamb females was achieved by the Boden family at the Christmas Stars sale with an average of £12,915 for 10 sold. The Society also hosted the inaugural Textravaganza National Texel Show at Carlisle, an event which showcased the very best of the breed to a huge audience from all corners of the UK, said Mr Yates. “While 2021 continued to present challenges as a result of Covid-19 it had been a tremendous year for the sheep industry and that had been reflected at all levels within the Texel breed. “These headline prices are just the tip of the iceberg, with exceptional demand for both pedigree Texels and Texel sired crossbred stock across the UK. All of this was fed by a rampant demand for quality prime lambs throughout 2021, with prices never dipping below £2/kg throughout the year. “This was reflected at breeding stock sales the length and breadth of the country which saw Texel cross females eagerly sought after and Texel rams achieving top prices at many centres.” Mr Yates said many Texel sales had seen record averages achieved alongside exceptional clearance rates. “The confidence felt among the commercial
The 32,000gns Caron Dynamite was one of the number of record breakers in 2021.
62%
jump in Ballymena ram lamb average
33%
lift in Worcester shearling average
41%
of total sale value at Kelso
37%
of total sale value at Builth
sheep sector had fed back up the supply chain as commercial farmers were prepared to dig deep to secure the breeding stock they needed to add value to their future lamb crops and their businesses as a whole.”
