Shearling trade drives Clun flock Roger and Antony Williams - Craven Arms, Shropshire
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irmly focussed on producing top quality commercial rams for Welsh borders customers, Roger and Antony Williams’ Clun flock has to be hardy, with the home farm set 1300ft above sea level and extending to 350 acres of severely disadvantaged land, with a further 200 acres rented locally. And it is this combination of factors which dictates much of the flock’s management policy, with lambing beginning in the second week of March, with ewes not cycling fully until October, making earlier lambing unachievable. “It suits the ground as we don’t get much grass before early April, so lambing earlier would be a costly exercise, meaning ewes and lambs would have to be housed for an extended period of time. We’re not set up for that and much prefer ewes and lambs to be out at grass within 24-48 hours of birth,” explains Antony who farms with his father Roger and with help from his wife Claire. “Ever since we started with Texels in 1988 our focus has always been on producing shearling rams, it suits our farm and it’s what most commercial customers want to buy. The great thing is that we can be assured if the rams have thrived here they’ll go on and do well pretty much anywhere,” he adds. Initially looking for Texel rams to go across the family’s flock of Clun Forest ewes, the family found the type of ram they wanted to buy was at the dearer end of the spectrum. “As a result, dad bought a few Texel ewes with the intention of breeding rams for our own use. It has grown from there,” says Antony. As Roger explains the farm used to sell 70-80 Clun rams a year along with 200 Clun ewes too. “Then as the Clun lost favour we started selling a few Texel rams. I thought if we could sell 30-40 Texel shearlings a year it would be good sideline, now we’re selling 150 shearlings every year, it has become a bit more than a sideline!” Today the flock of 400 Texel ewes runs alongside 100 pedigree Clun Forest ewes, 200 Clun Mules and 200 Texel cross ewes, all of which are homebred and MV Accredited. “These ewes have been raised in a tough environment, meaning we know they’ll thrive in our system.You can’t put a value on that when labour is limited,” says Antony.
Roger (left) and Antony Williams focus firmly on the commercial market with their 400-ewe Clun flock.
“The same is true of the rams we produce. They have to survive and thrive in a harsh climate and are never housed, spending all winter grazing root crops in one large mob. If they can’t cope or have any issue they are sold as prime sheep through Ludlow Market.” Looking back over the flock’s history Antony and Roger pick out their foundation females as having set them on the right road from early on. “We bought a ewe from Bob Lamb’s Wootton flock and then several females from Derek Goodwin at Corse and from William Redman’s Newark flock.
“Those provided a strong foundation for the flock and indeed a son of the Wootton ewe by Cambwell Supreme, Clun V.I.P, sold for 3500gns at the Main NSA Ram Sale 1992, a high price which stood for a number of years. “Latterly the flock has been closed, with the only female addition of recent years being a ewe from the dispersal of David Orrell’s flock in 2015. All replacements for the pedigree and commercial flocks are homebred these days and it shows in their ability to cope in this environment.” When it comes to lambing, ewes are only housed at night, running out by day to allow them exercise and access to grass. “It’s a system that works well for us and means we don’t need as much shed space as we would if they were housed all the time. Ewes are fed in the run up to lambing, with twins and Lifestyle
40 Spring 2021
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