Overlooking Loch Ness, Ballaggan farm in Torness is home to Peter Junor and his family alongside his 1200 Lanark-type Blackface sheep.
Originally a tenant farm, Ballaggan and nearby Balchraggan farm have been managed by Peter’s family since 1954. Both farms were leased by the nearby Aldourie Estate until 2021 when Peter was able to buy the holdings. The farm is predominately beef and sheep with some arable ground used to grow silage on.
“Ballaggan and Balchraggan were grouped together when my father took on the tenancy in the 1950s. The home farm is based at Ballaggan but we trade under the prefix of Balchraggan – it was something started by my late father,” Peter said.
Peter also has 750 acres as well as another 600 acres in other holdings both owned and rented locally, with his south-type Blackface ewe flock spread across Ballaggan, Balchraggan, Leadclune, and Killin Estate 16 miles away in the Monadhliath hills.
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The sheep are pure-bred Blackfaces, with 360 ewes crossed to Bluefaced Leicester to breed Scotch Mules at Leadclune and 80 ewes crossed at Ballaggan. Peter aims to buy one tup a year with a couple of shares in higher-priced rams.
“I mainly buy tups at Lanark mart but I have also bought a few at the breed sales at Stirling and Dalmally.”
Some recent purchases include a £16,000 Burncastle; £18,000 Allanfauld shared with Robert Flett and Aberuchill; a £6500 Dalchirla, again shared with Robert Flett; and a £9000 from Burnhead. Peter sells his own tups at Dingwall and Fort William marts as well as privately with his highest price to date being £1450.
“When Inverness market closed, they wanted consignors to sell at Fort William. I was the one that pushed for the Blackface tup sale at Dingwall so I have loyalty with them, I always make sure I have a good pen of tups going and we usually get some of the highest flock averages.”
When it comes to lambing, Peter relies on the traditional methods with all ewes lambed on the hill.
“I rent the high ground at Killin Estate where I have 400 ewes. The hill rises to 2600ft so the sheep are up there all the time and get used to the harsher conditions. They lamb from May 1 onwards and I climb up there with my binoculars once a day to check them.
“I like lambing to be of minimal intervention – they are best left alone. I have rarely had to lamb a ewe up there, maybe a gimmer, but I find the intervention does more harm than good.”
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His scanning percentage at Ballaggan sits at 146% with his sheep bred for replacements and surplus sold as stores or finished lambs. He keeps his cast ewes (four-crop) at Leadclune so the percentage is slightly lower at 131%. His tups go out in November with the rest of the holdings’ lambing late April.
Peter gives his twin-rearing ewes crossed with the Bluefaced Leicester 0.5lb per head per day of Davidsons Classic 18 ewe roll six weeks before they start lambing. Crossing single-bearing ewes and the pure Blackface twins also get 0.5lb per head per day. Blackface ewes carrying single lambs get 1.0lb between six ewes four weeks before they are due to boost milk production on the gimmers, but as soon as lambing starts all feeding stops with the exception of Lifeline buckets.
“I find it works best to not overfeed them, giving them enough to develop milk and support the lambs. I don’t need to be breeding big lambs and that’s why the singles only really get a sniff at the feed so that I am not having to help ewes with lambs that are too big,” Peter added.
All the ewes with the exception of those on the hill are vaccinated with Heptavac P a month before lambing and the whole flock is fluke and worm treated two weeks before lambing is due to start.
Lambing lasts for three to four weeks, ending late May, and Peter keeps a regular eye on them.
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“As the sheep are so spread out, I do all my rounds in the pick-up. During lambing, I’ll clock up 25 miles per day just going round them.”
Peter does all the work himself with assistance from his three-legged dog. “I rarely need the vet as the ewes can get on with it themselves, but I can provide assistance if need be.”
He has help from self-employed contractor Tim Seaton three days a week but during the three weeks at lambing he works every day to look after the cattle.
At Ballaggan, Peter has 70 commercial beef cattle consisting of Aberdeen Angus and Shorthorn cows with the progeny sold through Dingwall and Highland marts at Dingwall in October and November.
“I am trying to wind down the cattle a bit as my main enterprise is the sheep as I make a decent amount from them. In the last few years, I have slowly reduced the numbers of the cows at Ballaggan.”
For the last two years, lambs have been sold as stores at Dingwall with finished lambs sold straight to Woodhead Bros’ abattoir at Turriff.
“I used to finish the lambs on cake but I am finding with concentrate prices having increased so much it is no longer worth it.”
The majority of the sheep are clipped in July with the Killin hill ewes sheared early August. Lambs are taken off the hill to be wintered at Kingussie, while the Killin ewes remain on the hill all their life until they reach four-crop. They do, however, have access to Rumevite feed blocks in the winter.
“We do make silage but only the Leadclune ewes get bale silage until mid-March. The rest of the ewes don’t tend to need silage unless it’s snowing as there is so much heather on the ground. Silage is mainly grown for the cattle at Ballaggan.”
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Peter lives with his partner, Jennifer, with his two daughters, six-year-old Megan and three-year-old Marie, keeping them on their toes. Peter’s system at Ballaggan revolves around keeping everything manageable for him.
“Having sheep that look after themselves helps me out a lot. I mostly farm on my own and at my age you need to be realistic about how much you can manage. I don’t have many problems farming this way and the sheep make me good money so it works out. This ground is suited to this kind of set-up and I can’t imagine I would do anything else,” he concluded.
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