Explore Upland Sheep at the CAFRE Hill Farm Open Day

Date published: 7 August 2025

In this article Dr Eileen McCloskey, Senior Livestock Technologist at CAFRE explains how the ewes are managed according to type and suitability for the area of the hill. During the Open Day at the Hill Farm Centre on Wednesday 3 September grazing to maximise performance while delivering appropriate habitat management will be one area of discussion.

Breeding and Genetics

The hill flock consists of Scottish Blackface and Blackface x Swaledale ewes, they graze on the upper areas of the farm, predominantly areas classed as heather moorland and blanked bog.  A core of the flock, 250 Blackface ewes are bred pure and genetic performance is evaluated through the signet breeding programme, 100 Blackface ewes are crossed with Swaledale to increase hybrid vigour and performance in the crossbred flock. 250 Blackface x Swaledale ewes are mated with Texel to produce a more prolific female with improved milk, growth and carcass to utilise the more productive areas of the farm, with these Texel cross ewes managed on the lower hills and parks.  The majority are mated with a terminal sire currently a Meatlinc to produce a lamb capable of high growth rates in a forage-based system with improved carcass confirmation suitable for store or finish.  A further group are mated with Lleyn to produce replacements for the lowland flock at the CAFRE Beef and Sheep Centre.

A major focus is the breeding of high-quality females with all replacements being homebred and selected on ewe performance, mothering ability and milk, alongside lamb performance characteristics such as growth. The only stock bought in are rams which are selected on genetic merit, focusing on maternal traits such as prolificacy, birth weight and milk followed by growth and carcass.  Where available, there is also a focus on health traits such as Faecal Egg Counts (FEC).  All rams entering the flocks enter under strict biosecurity protocols and are quarantined. They will be treated for parasites, OPA scanned and brought into the vaccination programme.

Lambing

Lambing in 2025 started mid-March with the 750 ewes in lamb to Texel, Meatlinc and Lleyn housed around 6-8 weeks pre lambing and offered good quality silage. Closer to lambing they are offered concentrate through a total mixed ration, feed rates are based on litter size and body condition score and in January 2025 this group scanned at 186%.  The remaining 350 in lamb to Blackface and Swaledale started lambing at the beginning of April and are managed outdoors according to litter size and body condition score, scanning this year at 145%.

Table 1. Flock performance three year average

Management decisions are driven by information with all lambs EID tagged at birth.  This enables the recording of parentage, birth weight, lambing and performance such as growth and maternal ability which is continuously monitored through their lifetime on the farm. This information is vital to enable informed decisions to be made on breeding, animal health and overall management. This physical information feeds into benchmarking carried out annually through the CAFRE Benchmarking programme. The electronic integration of technology such as sheep handling, EID, weigh bridge, management programs and precision drenching greatly enhances data collection and management across the flock.

Weaning

The crossbred lambs were weaned at the end of July with an average wean weight of 35kg. After weaning the replacement females will be selected based on performance the rest of the lambs will be batched on weight, those close to finish (39 kg and above) will be retained on the farm and finished. A batch of shorter keep lambs (35 kg plus) will be transferred to the CAFRE Beef and Sheep Centre, numbers will depend on grass availability normally around 250 lambs. Some lighter lambs will be finished over winter at the CAFRE Dairy Centre the remainder of the lambs will be sold as stores.

Weaning of the Blackface and Swaledale lambs started this week the first batch of twins were weaned on the 4 August with an average wean weight of 29.6 kg. Like the crossbred lambs the females will be selected, a batch of lambs between 20 kg-25 kg will be moved to the Dairy Centre for finish and the remainder will be sold as stores.

Ewes have been condition scored, udders checked, ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) scanned and moved to several of the parks at Glenwherry for drying off. A group will continue to graze the breeding wader site to aid habitat management while the cows are currently in mating groups.

Animal Health

Throughout the productive lifetime health and welfare is of utmost importance. Poor health will have a negative impact on productivity and efficiency of the flock, it’s also critical to ensure best practice and most responsible use of antimicrobials and anthelmintics.  An animal health plan for the flock, drawn up in conjunction with the farm vet is updated annually and more frequently if required.  This ensures the flock is on the most suitable vaccination programme based on performance, any issues which may have arisen and in line with upcoming risk. A plan for parasite management incorporating all available tools such as FEC is updated to ensure minimal loss of productivity due to parasite burdens alongside responsible use and safeguarding the efficacy of the available products.  The flock has been in an OPA scanning programme since 2017, with scanning now on a biannual basis carried out pre tupping. The flock was scanned on Wednesday 6August. Mortality of ewes and lambs is recorded in detail to ensure we can adjust management, nutrition and treatment to minimise losses and reduce impact on productivity.

Habitat Management

Managing the diverse range of habitats and vegetation across the farm is an integral aspect of a productive sheep enterprise, the aim for all the livestock enterprises at the CAFRE Hill Farm Centre is to maximise productivity from the resources available. Responsible management of the vegetation is a vital component of a productive system ensuring the most nutritious vegetation is available to meet productive demand.  Keeping all the habitats in a healthy, productive state positively impacts the livestock systems and the diverse range of wildlife on the farm and the surrounding area. Healthy vegetation also protects the valuable soils and peat underneath which deliver a wide range of ecosystem services.  Sheep and cattle are the most suitable management tool available to hill farmers to manage vegetation, improve the condition of habitats and enhance biodiversity.  A grazing plan for both the sheep and cattle is created annually to ensure productivity and habitat quality are moved forward together.

Summary

The hill sheep sector is a major component of the Northern Irish sheep industry, striving for productive flocks and generating a valuable income stream is crucial to ensure these enterprises remain.  Hill sheep systems play a vital role in maintaining the uplands in a desirable state which enhances biodiversity, supports a vast range of wildlife and delivers on factors such as water quality and carbon sequestration. These farming enterprises are also an integral aspect of a thriving rural community.

To hear more about the CAFRE sheep enterprises and the vital role they play in habitat management, come along to the CAFRE and Teagasc joint Upland Open Day at the CAFRE Hill Farm Centre on Wednesday 3September.

For more information and to register to attend the event, please visit the CAFRE website.