DESPITE a dwindling number of Border Leicester breeders producing fewer tups, there's one Greyface breeder that believes the Border cross Blackface female has more to boast about than Scotland's most popular cross-bred sheep, the Scotch Mule.

Meet Ron Finnie and wife Margaret who, together with son Gavin and grandson Graeme, run an 800-strong flock of Greyface ewes at Bush Farm, near Crathie, Ballater, with Graeme being the fourth generation to work on the 8000-acre tenanted unit.

Times have changed a great deal since Ron took over from his father, John, back in 1978 - not just the number of stock on the ground but also the breeding of those ewes too. Having switched from the Border Leicester tup to his Bluefaced equivalent for a few years, Ron soon switched back to breeding the hardy Greyface ewe.

Ron explained: "We used the Bluefaced Leicester to produce Scotch Mules for a number of years but went back to the Border Leicester as I was afraid it was becoming a dying breed.

"More than that, though, I believe the Greyface is hardier and better suited to the ground here, and produces a better lamb for hanging up."

He continued: "Going back around 50 years, all the lambs around here were out of Greyface ewes. I remember when up to 22,000 lambs were sold in one day at the local Aboyne mart - that was when everything was done with a dog and a stick. Times have definitely changed since then!

"There were only 500 ewes at Bush back then and 15 cows, but we've gathered more lowland ground over the years which has enabled us to build up the numbers and we've now got land and stock scattered all over Deeside."

That they certainly do, as the 8000 acres at Bush are joined by a further 2000 acres of rented ground on nearby hillside where the 800 Greyface ewes are run alongside 1600 south-type Blackface ewes.

The Finnies also run some 150 nearly pure-bred, non-registered Limousin cross cows plus home-bred replacements with offspring sold through the store ring at Thainstone and Huntly marts as yearlings in the spring time.

Furthermore, the family also owns a small-scale contracting business which sees them carry out silage harvests or re-seeding/drilling for neighbours, including HM the Queen across the road at Balmoral.

But it's the sheep which make up the main crux of the business and there's a comprehensive breeding programme for the Blackface and Greyface ewes to ensure the prime lamb crop is as profitable as it can be on the ground which rises from 1200-2800ft above sea level.

Of the 1600 Blackie females, around 1200 are pure and the remaining 400 - which are mostly second class or older ewes - are put to the Border Leicester tup to produce the Greyface.

"We need the best ewes for breeding pure to the Blackie". Most of the female lambs are then retained for the flock although some are sold privately."

With Border Leicester tups mainly bought at Kelso Ram Sales from Sandy and Alec Watson's Intock flock from Muthill, and Bill Blackhall's flock at Bogfon, Durris, Ron has a clear picture in his mind when it comes to picking a suitor for his Blackie ladies, and even more so to suit the tough conditions at Bush.

"I'm inclined to look for a tup that leaves a decent carcase on his lambs but we also need a tight-coated ram with a good fleece to withstand the weather here," pointed out Ron.

"The face does come into it somewhat as we're looking for something with a bit of character which shows itself well but, more importantly, it's got to be good on its legs and feet to be able to handle the rough terrain."

Those tups making the grade are then used to produce the Greyface ewes, with the resulting females put to a terminal sire. Meatlinc rams are used over the gimmers for easier lambing while the ewes are covered by Suffolk or Texel tups in order to produce a strong lamb for the abattoir.

The management at lambing time of the three breeding flocks pulls no punches either as the four-man team (or three and a half according to Ron!) does all the work themselves, which is no mean feat as travelling between units often becomes difficult when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Ron explains: "No Greyface lambs are born until the beginning of May to give them a better start in early life give us a chance to finish the main blocks of Blackie and cross lambing as we do it all ourselves.

"This means that we don't need to feed the Blackie ewes expecting to the Border and simply offer them mineral blocks instead. All are lambed outside with this season seeing a very managable raised lamb percentage of 150% with the Blackies at around 120%."

All male lambs are finished on site and sold to McIntosh Donald at Portlethen where they kill out very favourably and in the top of the classification spectrum.

With the top end of the Suffolk and Texel-sired lambs sold from September onwards, the majority of the Greyface wedders are sold as hoggs the following spring in March and April.

Nearly all kill out weighing more than 20kg and the Finnies are sometimes penalised for lambs being too heavy, which goes to show the ability of the Greyface breed to produce a strong, well-fleshed lamb for the table.

"They're mostly finished on grass but we do plant some stubble neeps and kale to finish them on too with the leftover hoggs offered an 18% protein cake if there's little grass or no brassica crop to finish them on," added Graeme.

Despite lamb producers up and down the country worrying about the current lamb trade (which, for the week ended July 4, dropped a further 35.6p on the week to 349.3p/dwkg) it's nothing that's not been seen before, according to Ron.

"Trade is pretty miserable at the moment but the value of the pound could be the problem. I have no doubt trade will pick up again - we just need to have patience, but it can't have been easy on the early lamb producers."

On the other hand, the cull ewe trade continues to soar and the Greyface ewes sold through Thainstone and Huntly centres have hit a top of £117 per head and average around the £80 mark, with Blackies also meeting a good trade to average around £60.

But it's the Common Agricultural Policy reform which is proving the most challenging for the team as they are set to lose a huge chunk of their annual income.

"We're going to be in a bit of a mess with CAP reform this year as all the money is set to head to the estate owners unless there's a full tenancy agreement. Because a lot of our land is through a grazing lease agreement, we're set to lose around 8000 acres of claimable land which is equivalent to 40% of our Single Farm Payment.

"On the whole, I think we need to be in the EU, even though sometimes it doesn't seem to do us any good we certainly need to be in the EU to benefit from exporting our produce to Europe."

Despite these challenges, it seems the Greyface is the breed of choice for the Finnies and is set to stay at Bush Farm for future years as Ron concludes: "I've worked with Greyface ewes most of my life and I'd say they're a bonnier ewe than a Mule.

"Margaret says the Border tups are bonnier than the Blues too!"