IF there's a sheep breed that has witnessed a surge in popularity in recent years it is undoubtedly the Zwartbles which can be seen dotted in fields up and down the country and now outnumbers many other sheep breeds at agricultural shows.

Since its introduction to the United Kingdom from Netherlands back in the 1990s, the Zwartbles breed has swiftly gathered a large following of smallholder breeders and is now being considered as a viable option for commercial lamb producers thanks to its size, hardiness, and particular flavour of meat.

Since moving to the 226 acres at Barmurrie Farm, near Balmaclellan in the Galloway hills, some 20 years ago, husband and wife duo, Mark and Gillian Smith, have rapidly upped the number of Zwartbles from a single tup for daughters - Ovibreed technician Carina, Georgina who has just finished secondary school and 15-year-old Sabrina, a school student - to show in young handlers' classes along with brother James who is now a civil engineer - to some 60 breeding females.

"We started off with some suckler cows and cross ewes when we first moved up from Northumberland and are constantly trying to improve the quality of the stock. As well as the expansion to the sheep side of the farm, we've increased the suckler cows to around 60, including a herd of pedigree Simmentals" explained Mark, who may be more recognisable to some by his family nickname, Ted.

Gillian, who was recently elected to the Zwartbles Sheep Association council and also runs a three-bedroom holiday cottage on the farm, continued: "A few years back we bought a couple Zwartbles females to cross with a Texel to produce nice fat lambs, but it wasn't until we bought an unnamed Broomhillbank tup we later called Rambo for £400 four years ago in Carlisle, that the pedigree flock began to develop.

"He was quite the character and knocked many of us to our knees out in the field but he was great in the young handlers' classes and his offspring have amassed 20 championships between them - I don't think you would find any other breed where you could have that degree of success from such a small outlay."

Rambo was joined by eight females of mixed ages from Shirley Clarke's Yarrow flock and while the Smiths openly admit their first show season didn't go so well, it was their success during the following years that got them hooked on showing and so the flock increased in numbers.

These now run alongside a small flock of 20 Beltex breeding females - which produced a 1000gns tup at Carlisle, last year, in what was the family's first time selling - as well as a recently established flock of Texels.

"Despite the original Dutch Zwartbles imports being very tall and stretchy, we are concentrating on the more commercial type with a bigger frame and more meat which is typical of the Zwartbles you find in Scotland," said Mark.

In just four years, the team at Barmurrie has picked up a number of tri-colour tickets in the show ring as progeny from the Broomhillbank tup have picked up 20 championships between them.

Most notable, perhaps, is Barmurrie Aloysius, a young ewe out of Yarrow Tottie that won 13 breed championships as a gimmer or as ewe lamb, while Barmurrie Bora Bora, out of East Middle Whisper, lifted five red, white and blue rosettes as a gimmer in 2015.

Furthermore, retained Rambo sons have had their share of success with Barmurrie Aztec siring Barmurrie Casa Mia, last year's show ewe lamb which stood reserve on four occasions.

"Despite this," continued Gillian, "it irks me that the breed is often passed over during inter-breed line-ups but judges are beginning to take a longer look at them so hopefully this is something that will change going forward."

Barmurrie Zwartbles have done well both at home and through the pedigree ring at Carlisle and Stirling, too, as Barmurrie Bellisimo realised 850gns as a gimmer and Barmurrie Caprice sold for 650gns as a ewe lamb, with the shearling tups Barmurrie Barney, and Barmurrie Bruno, both hitting a top of 750gns.

The Barmurrie flock has gone from strength to strength in this time-frame, too, as they not only scooped the ticket for best large flock at the recent Scottish flock competition, but also came second in the progeny with Barmurrie Aztec offspring and third with ewe lambs.

Not just pretty faces though, Zwartbles stand up well against other continental breeds in the commercial market as tup lambs with markings not suitable for the show or sale ring (they must have two rear white socks, an unbroken blaze on the face and a white tip to the tail) sold freshly-speaned through the prime ring at Dumfries in May for £85. Cross lambs reached £88, with average weights of 44kg.

There is a particular sweetness to the meat, too, and the breed is proving popular with butchers. The Smiths have processed many for the freezer at home - including one which weighed in at an impressive 40kg deadweight.

The breed, reports the Smith family, is very easily managed alongside small number of Beltex and Texel females, but it's the low maintenance of the exceptionally milky females that really sets them apart, making them a 'go to' breed for both hobby farmers and farmers' children or grand-children.

"In the lead up to tupping, the Zwartbles girls receive the regular jags and doses during the summer with no supplement feeding - particularly copper as they can be susceptible to copper poisoning," pointed out Gillian.

"We've also had an issue with fluke and resistance in the last few years, so we like to rotate the fields so that the sheep are grazing on clean pasture and regularly take dung samples.

"Closer to tupping, we use PRIDs in the shape of sponges in order to synchronise the ewes before the rams head out to do their business. First up is a batch of 20 or so ewes aimed for lambing in December to produce lambs that will stand up well in the show ring, followed by the remainder of the flock at the end of January.

"But we may have to change that in coming years as it works well when there's plenty grass to turn mothers and young lambs out to but the wet weather has made this season pretty dire."

The lambing percentages and mothering ability of a Zwartbles ewe aren't to be sniffed at either as both the early and late flocks scan in excess of 200% thanks to a large number of twins and triplets. And you needn't worry about large lambs causing issues as the capacious carcase means the majority lamb themselves without any problems.

A couple of weeks before lambing ewes are offered an 18% protein cake from For Farmers and ad-lib hay, which they're eating plenty of this year compared to previous years. With a large number of foxes in the area, all sheep are brought inside for lambing.

"Lambs have their navel treated with iodine, are encouraged to suckle if they haven't already done so and are individually penned with their mother. They have plenty vigour about them as they're quick to get to their feet and find the teat, and we don't offer them any other treatment for watery mouth, etc, unless it becomes a problem," said Gillian, adding that if for any reason a ewe does need assistance, there's plenty space for even Mark's muckle hands to help out.

"Likewise, if a lamb happens to be coming out backwards or has a leg folded back, it's very easy for you to slip the lamb back in and get it in the right position."

According to the family, the super milky nature of the Zwartbles can create its own problems as feeding too much can lead to mastitis. The females would easily rear triplets too but this is avoided as they tend to put all their intake in to milk production and can be lean at weaned time.

"Traditional farmers probably think they're quite soft and too pretty to do much but, in our eyes, they're the perfect all-rounder as they do well in both pedigree and commercial markets, are great mothers with lively lambs. They also and make terrific recipients. But it's their great character that shines through - once you invest in a few they'll never leave the farm," concluded Gillian.