NATIVE hill breed sheep came to the fore to oust the usual Continental suspects for the overall title at this year's Agri-Expo.

The reasons were quite simple, according to the judge, Haig Murray, head of procurement for the Dunbia group: "Both the champions and reserves were perfect examples of their breed. They were the right size and the correct level of fat for the market," he said.

"I've been going for leaner sheep all day, trying to demonstrate what we, as the UK's largest lamb processor are looking for.

"The message I'm trying to feed back to the industry is that lamb is a high-priced product and too much fat on a sheep costs the industry more to produce and the processor more to take it back off," pointed out Mr Murray.

"The champions will probably grade at R3L, which is not too fat and not too lean. Disappointingly, quite a lot of sheep in front of me today were in those other brackets."

In a great boost for the Cheviot breed, he gave the championship to a pair of wethers shown by Innes and Gordon Graham, from Carruthers, Lockerbie. Weighing 43kg apiece, they are Northies by a Gospel Hall sire and will next be seen at the forthcoming LiveScot event.

The trophies kept going back to Lockerbie, when Jack Graham, Birsca, won the accolade of best sheep young handler showing a Carruthers Cheviot.

Keeping things in the hills, Mr Murray gave the reserve overall title to a pair of Blackface lambs shown by Hugh Hamilton, Glenmanna, Thornhill, with Callum Cuthbertson helping.

These were again wethers, with a home-bred sire at the back of them. Weighing 41kg, if they keep their form, they will also be at LiveScot.

From the Down breeds, the top selection was a pair of Dutch Texels from veteran showman, Robin Slade, from near Hereford, who has produced 60 national show champions.

These are both ewe lambs and will be retained for breeding, and are sired by a home-bred Wheatfield sire. They weighed 38kg each.

Runner-up to them was a pair of Suffolk crosses from Malcolm Stewart, Nether Brotherstone, Melrose, with help in the ring from Andrew Morton.

Hitting the scales at 45kg, they were a ewe and a wether, with both sired by a tup that had been sold at Malcolm's on-farm sale to Ashmore and Strone Estate, Bridge of Cally, for 600gns. The dams were Beltex crosses.

Champion lambs out of a hill ewe, were Beltex crosses out of Cheviots from TN Cavers and Co, Sorbie, Ewes, Langholm, which were in front of another pair of Beltex cross Cheviots from the Bailey family's Ivanhoe Livestock, Wyvill Grange, Bedale.