One of the big advantages of being Secretary of a breed society such as ours is the opportunity it provides for meeting people and travelling. Since the last Newsletter I hve visited the Hanover Farm Show in Germany and with the help of E.B.L.E.X and the M.L.C was able to distribute a large quantity of literature. The translation into German was done with the kind help of Prof. Dr Rolf Minhorst of Osnabruck University. He has been developing a very similar composite breed to ours, with great success. I had the opportunity to view the animals and was greatly impressed. They are considerably larger than our ‘Easy Care’ and have the advantage of heavier lambs to sell and also possibly earlier lambing. The downside however is that they are not as hardy and need more feed. Their system is also very different as their flocks are generally much smaller in number and are traditionally kept indoors over winter. Although a lot of the land in Northern Germany is suitable to out-wintering and their climate is not all that different to ours, ‘tradition dies hard’ and they are not likely to change at the moment. I am very hopeful that Dr. Minhorst will be able to attend our Open Day in Essex on 10th June ‘07. I know members would be very interested to hear from him about the scientific approach he and his colleagues have taken. Another Farmer I visited there was Mr Melchior who has the largest flock of their breed which they have called ‘Nolana’, which is Latin for ‘no wool’ – as if you didn’t already know! (See the link to the Nolana website on the Easy Care site)
My travels on behalf of the Society have been far and wide; from the beautiful rolling hills overlooking the Romney Marsh near Rye in Kent to the rugged coast of the Isle of Aran in Scotland and as far as the West Coast of Ireland. Keith Dean and his son Oliver have a flock of approximately 100 Easy Care on their farm in Kent. They intend to expand considerably on their 700 acres. Their lambs are sold through the local “Farmers Markets” and their customers continuously ask for ‘Easy Care’ lambs. On the Isle of Arran I saw some lovely sheep belonging to the McAllisters who, like many, find that getting shearers to come to the Island is very expensive and so a wolless breed is perfect. I was welcomed by Guss Isler and Des Donohue in Co. Meath, Ireland, before travelling to the Far West of Co. Kerry to see the flock of 100 belonging to Liam Moran. His flock not only survive but thrive on the exposed clifftop overlooking the Atlantic and are out all winter. I also visited Mr Crane of Barnstable in Devon, Richard Alvis in Bath, Anne Barlow and Mike Tindale both of Lancashire, Dr Judith Cohen Reditch and Brian Hallow, Cheshire.
Of all the farms I have ever visited however Little Braxted Hall in Essex is really something you should not miss. Kit & Sue Speakman are ‘entrepreneurs par excellence’ and we are very fortunate in having our Society Open Day there on 10th June ‘07. Wherever you live and however busy you are this is a ‘must’. I have never seen anything quite like their set up. Details will follow in the next Newsletter.
We also intend to have a stand and some sheep at the NSA Wales & Border event at Abergavenny on 30th May and at Sheep North at Bishop Auckland on 6th June ( any offers of help on the stand would be gratefully received.)
If you have any females to sell we have our website sale list – contact Andy Teal on 01407 840818 or email me as I have constant enquiries. Personally I am sold out of females for ’07 already. However you sell make sure they are ‘true to type’ (completely shed) and carry an ‘Easy Care’ tag.
Iolo Owen, MBE, FRAgS
Secretary ‘Easy Care’ Sheep Society
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