SHEEP
CHARLIE ANGUS – TEXELS
by Lesley Eaton hings other folk do” – that’s how Thurso’s Charlie Angus describes retirement, hobbies and holidays. As if to prove the point, at the age of 65 he has recently seized the opportunity to invest in 100 acres of land at Upper Dounreay, taking the total he farms to 480 owned and 25 rented acres. The enterprise is based at Oldfield right on the outskirts of Thurso, a farm which was bought by Charlie’s grandfather in 1921. Until 1978 the focus was on dairying but the rapid growth of the growing town onto Oldfield land eventually made this impossible and the decision was made to move into sheep. Nowadays, Oldfield is surrounded on three sides by the coastal town of Thurso but Charlie enjoys great relations with his many neighbours and encourages them to make the most of his open doors policy, with many families dropping by to see the workings of the farm – especially at lambing time. After a career as an engineer with the Agricultural Training Board, which took him all over the north and west of Scotland, former Scottish Clay Pigeon Shooter Charlie returned to take over the running of the family farm in 1987 with wife Isobel. Since then, they have nearly doubled what was a 250 acre unit, adding land at three other units within a nine-mile radius of Oldfield. The land is prime Caithness arable ground offering plenty of grazing for the Oldfield flock as well as 80 acres of hay, 20 acres of which is used at home. The remainder is sold to crofters in Sutherland and a small amount goes to the local pony market. In addition are 40 acres of rough grazing and 15 acres of swedes. Charlie and Isobel have become widely renowned for their Texel flock taking many accolades on the summer show circuit, including the 2011 championship at Black Isle Show – and it all started during a visit to the
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Royal Highland Show in 1992. The couple decided to establish their own Texel flock after been taken by the look and conformation of the breed. Since then, Oldfield’s prize-winning pure Texel flock has grown to 100 with tups being sourced at Lanark or Kelso. It is worked alongside 60 pure low ground North Country Cheviots, two pure Suffolks which are the pride and joy of grandson Charlie and the remainder of the 650-head flock is made up of Texel cross Charollais. More than 75% of Oldfield lambs are finished on grass and sold through Scotch Premier Meat in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. Anything not ready by the first week in October is held back for the sales at nearby Caithness Livestock Centre in the third week of October and trade is usually very brisk with an average of £84 in 2011. Explaining the decision behind the move into Texels some 20 years ago, Charlie said: “I really liked the Texels I saw and I’m glad we made the move because the market for them has grown hugely and they do very well for us. Before we introduced the Texels, we mainly had low ground North Country Cheviots and the market for them has dwindled over the years while the Texels have done the exact opposite. “We have experimented with various breeds over the years including Lleyn and Charollais but
they weren’t right for us, not least because the climate up here meant we had to keep the new lambs in for about ten days after they were born otherwise the weather would finish them before they started. Texel sired lambs are much hardier though and, unless there is a really bad storm, they are usually out the day after they are born.” Becoming concerned that his commercial flock was becoming too slanted towards the Texel, Charlie decided to bring home a Blue Faced Leicester tup four years ago and has enjoyed great success with the progeny. He went on: “The offspring make tremendous, milky mothers and when we cross back to a Texel again we get a really good, fast-growing sheep which finishes early and has an excellent carcase.” A key factor in the success of the Oldfield flock is young grass and any old grass is ploughed down and re-sown straight away to be ready later in the year for flushing ewes ready for tupping. Highland Area Texel Club chairman Charlie added: “The ewes get Crystalyx blocks because they’re the only ones which seem to withstand the weather here and ad lib hay from December 1st. Using oats bought straight off the combine locally, we make a home-made mix of oats, sugarbeet, soya and minerals,
which all the ewes get from three weeks before to three weeks after lambing, depending on the weather. We also put swedes round all the fields to encourage the ewes to stay in the shelter of the dykes with their lambs – the grass comes later this far north so the swedes help keep the milk going.” Always keen to progress the business, this year saw Charlie and Isobel try embryo transplants for the first time after being encouraged by the success of fellow breeders. Using Glenside Ringading, the inaugural project involved six ewes, five of which successfully produced ten lambs, some of which will be retained for breeding. Charlie also finds time to run three other businesses from the busy home farm including CA Tyres, which supplies and fits all makes and types of tyre for agricultural, commercial and private vehicles. Set up in 1989 thanks to the construction of a new shed, Charles Angus Engineers employs five people. As well as dealing in all types of farm machinery and new sheep handling systems, the company holds Kubota and Zetor franchises. The business also supplies hydraulic hoses to the marine engineering industry, a growth sector for the local economy as nearby Scrabster harbour attracts more and more traffic. The burgeoning