A Message From Across The Pond

Recent Travels To The UK Report by Brenda & Mark Lelli Beechtree Farm Coopersville, Michigan USA
Many thanks to the UK - B.F.L.S.B.A. for asking me to write about my views on Bluefaced Leicesters from across the pond. Fresh from our recent travels to the UK, we are making headway on the chores at the home front. The sheep are all alive, as are our children who had to take care of them, the house is still standing, and we survived the eventful two day trip to get home. I would be remiss if first and foremost if I failed to mention the warmth and hospitality that was shown to us by our fellow Bluefaced breeders during our visit. We had a very enjoyable time, filled with many educational opportunities, of seeing old friends and making new ones, and taking in many wonderful sights during our travels.
Having a few drinks Some Bluefaced Leicesters "Stand to attention, we are being photographed" Above and below - Judging at Penrith Sale A Bluefaced Leicester tup lamb in the process of being sold Badger The Dog On Guard	Our first stop at the Castle Douglas sale and subsequent social celebrating that evening set the stage, that Bluefaced Leicester breeders, whether if they are from the UK, Ireland or the USA, all have common goals. 'GOOD TUPS, GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD SALE PRICES, and GOOD 'AMERICAN' BEER!' Not necessarily in that order! We embrace the BFL and Mule breeders for your warm welcome and the interest you showed and for the education you provided us by responding to our queries and in turn by asking us questions. Many went out of their way to introduce themselves, enquire about our flock, our bloodlines, our goals and how we may differ in our marketing schemes. In the UK, the Bluefaced Leicester has a tremendous base of purebred genetics and a long established reputation of being the UK's premier crossing sire. Here in the USA we are in our infancy. We have a long road ahead of us, but we have an excellent path to follow. With guidance and help from you and your Association we too will see the demand for our stock grow as more commercial ewe producers are exposed to the attributes of the Bluefaced Leicester. We need to set our sights and goals high to maintain the purity of the breed, to concentrate on breed type, paying special attention to structure and mouths, while eliminating faults in our gene pool. We should strive to only put forward our best stock if we are going to build a demand for quality, pedigreed Bluefaced Leicesters. Some very different marketing points between the UK and the USA come in the way of niche marketing, sheep health care, availability of sheep products and feed stuffs, support for health testing, and sheep improvement schemes. The established markets and ram sales that you have for your pedigreed stock influences and sets the stage for good trade and good prices for quality stock. In the States we don't have fall ram sales, or the ewe markets for all the different sheep breeds. All our breeding stock sales are done one-on-one, typically from the farm or while at a sheep or fiber event. This gives us a lot of personal contact with the purchaser and an insight into what their needs, goals and demands are. On several occasions while we were looking at the rams in the sale pens, we would be seen inspecting the fleeces or 'skins', with the UK breeders curious as to why we paid so much attention to the consistency and character of the wool. We were informed that in the UK's system, the wool clip is collected by the Wool Promotion Board at each shearing, with the proceeds going to wool promotion schemes, not the producer. Here the 'fiber' aspect of the breed excels, with good, clean, white and natural colored 'black' fleeces selling for the equivalent of £ 4.00-6.00/ lb. in the grease. As well as sales of BFL tups to 'fiber flocks' to meet the demand for improved fleece qualities. We discovered in the UK you have a wider range of feed stuffs and supplements geared towards the health and wellbeing of your livestock. Your lush grazing and wet weather out on the hills is about near perfect an environment for clean, well fed animals as one could plan for.
In the USA we vary considerably in our climate which can be detrimental to sheep grazing and housing conditions. Some areas of the north see winter for 4-6 months out of the year, while in the south heat and humidity of 90-110 degrees F. for weeks or months is not uncommon. Most sheep are given access to housing and are fed hay and corn with a pelleted supplement during times of either extreme when pastures are drought stricken or under snow. These extremes in weather diversity are also a factor in our selection for wool traits, with the goal being to maintain the Bluefaced character, crimp, luster and softness, but to impart density and coverage on the animal for protection. Also, the darker pigmented animals don't appear to sunburn as easily as the whiter animals. Sheep medicine in the UK is top notch. Here it is very difficult to get a qualified, experienced person to L.A.I. sheep utilizing frozen semen and virtually unheard of to do an entire sponged flock in a day. Those of us who do use A.I. are few and far between. Because the technology and interest hasn't peeked here yet, this also means the drugs, medication and health support system is not the same either. There is an increased trend to select for scrapie resistance based on Codon testing. Mostly this is aimed at the terminal blackfaced breeds here in the States, with limited funding or partial reimbursement for the Codon testing of rams. We have two programs in place for trace back of scrapie infected animals. The first is a mandatory tagging system with farm or premise I.D. tags. The other is a surveillance program, where by enrolled flocks are inspected annually and you have the ability to obtain Certified Scrapie Free flock status. We also have sheep producers who routinely test for Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP) the equivalent to your Maedi Visna (MV) but no accreditation program in place. You also have vaccines, wormers and supplements approved for sheep use, that are not accessible to USA producers. Over here sheep predation is a wide spread problem, with many producers turning to LGD's (livestock guard dogs), donkeys and llamas to guard flocks from coyotes, wolves, bears, mountain lions and vultures. At times it can be a challenge. But then our successes and triumphs wouldn't mean as much if we didn't have to work for them. The ram sales were an excellent opportunity to see literally hundreds of BFL's in a very short period of time. It greatly improved my knowledge and eye for the breed, and for selecting their finer points. Some of my personal favorite picks fetched very good prices. The vast array of types from the pedigreed tups to the crossers offered something for everyone. I'm not sure I'll get used to seeing 'tinted' BFL's and I noted that each breeder had their own preferred shade of Purl Dip. For those breeders that welcomed us to their farms and for some we arrived unexpectedly, for the sheep tours, the tea and meals, for the B & B arrangements, and the guided history tours, Thank You! Also, to those who offered their hospitality but due to time constraints we couldn't make it to them, Thank you! I greatly appreciate the offers from some breeders to have their bloodlines collected for export. I am currently reviewing flocks and pedigrees to evaluate what bloodlines might afford us the most genetic improvement with our next collections. At the pre-sale judging we thoroughly enjoyed the chance to get 'IN THE RING' for some hands on experience with your style of showing Bluefaced Leicesters. More than one person turned their ear when I had to reply to questions from the judges or ring stewards. I guess it was the 'lack' of my accent? Eighteen days and 1,500 miles spent driving on the left 'WRONG' side of the road, dodging oncoming vehicles and hedges, the occasional sheep on the road, and the round-a-bouts, with nary a scratch on the rental car; doesn't sound like a long road trip in USA terms but it was and extensive (intensive) trip. Everywhere we went we saw the influence of the Bluefaced Leicester. Sometimes it was that distinct ear set and long neck on a grazing band of speckled faced Mule ewes. Other times it was a lone tup or two chewing their cud, noses in the air surrounded by a flock of 'hill ewes', or the occasional glimpse of blue headed sheep behind a break in the rock walls. The Bluefaced Leicester truly represents the best of British sheep. For the memories, the warm good byes, and well wishes as we departed from Carlisle. Thank you! As for the offers to come visit the USA and judge our flock and sheep, we welcome you. Just give us a ring! Best wishes to all for the coming year.

Bluefaced Leicester Office: Regent House, Bank Street, Annan DG12 6AA Tel: 01461 206900 Fax: 01461 206903 Email: info@blueleicester.co.uk Web items contact Webmaster: Email elaine@cassington.com