A spotlight has been shone on the Texel breed ahead of the 2023 Sheep Northern Ireland event, with recent research revealing that the breed is adding more than £23.5 million/year to the UK sheep industry.
That’s according to Texel Sheep Society chief executive John Yates, who cited a 2022 study commissioned by the society and AbacusBio, a genetics consultancy.
Speaking ahead of the National Sheep Association (NSA) event, Yates said: “No other single breed has as much influence on the industry as Texel does.”
Texel breed
According to Yates, Texel-cross lambs are in high demand “no matter what ewe breed they are out of”.
“Texel lambs regularly earn premium prices in Northern Irish prime stock sales, being at the top or near the top of the trade week in, week out,” he said.
“The recent introduction of economic selection indexes for both terminal and replacement traits within the Texel breed offers Northern Irish farmers the potential to further increase their returns.
“Using performance data as part of your ram selection criteria has huge potential to add extra value to a business,” he added.
“High ranking rams deliver almost £5/lamb more than lower-ranking rams. Over a ram’s working lifetime, this is easily worth an extra £1,000/ram; generated through shorter finish times and improved carcass quality.”
Sheep Northern Ireland
The NSA’s 2023 Sheep Northern Ireland event takes place on Tuesday, July 4, at Tynan Estate in Co. Armagh.
The farm participated in the Northern Ireland sheep programme and, as part of this, developed a three- and five-year farm plan, reviewing the farm’s objectives and setting key performance targets to identify areas for change.
This included soil fertility, grassland management, breeding and genetics, and performance recording, all of which will be discussed at the NSA event.
NSA regional representative in Northern Ireland, Edward Adamson said: “The sheep sector has a tremendous amount to offer Northern Ireland’s economy as a whole.
“But given the scale of rising costs, flock owners need every penny they can get right now.”