Jimmy gets ready for his biggest role yet

Celebrating a 'big, but not too big', birthday just a few weeks ago, Jimmy was born and brought up on a hill farm in the Lochearnhead area before taking on a tenancy together with wife Christine and son, Graeme, in the Scottish Borders a number of years later.

Now based at Crookston, near Galashiels, Jimmy and Graeme first shepherded across the valley at Overshiels before a change of ownership and landlord resulted in them moving to the 2000 acres of Crookston, which is owned by Lord Borthwick.

The family run some 80 suckler cows, as well as 1800 ewes, between Crookston and Clints, a nearby spot rented by the duo.

Farmed at Clints are 600 Blackface ewes, of which half are now crossed with the Bluefaced Leicester to produce Scotch Mule females for breeding at Crookston, alongside a pen bought every year, typically from the Easter Dawyck.

At Crookston itself, some 500 Mule females are covered by Texel tups, producing what Jimmy calls a Texel Mule which is then covered by the Beltex to produce lambs suitable for the fat market.

“When we arrived at Crookston in 2000 there was already an established and renowned flock of North Country Cheviots and we tried breeding Cheviot Mules for a while which we should maybe have sold as they were making money at the time,” explained Jimmy, of the reasoning behind the breeds currently in use at Crookston.

“But the ground here is at mostly 1000 feet above sea level, rising up to 1500 feet, which we felt was a bit high to have Cheviot Mules, so we bought a flock of Mules and worked with all sorts of tups – Hampshires, Charollais and Suffolks – but have now settled with a reasonably simple crossing method.

“The Scotch Mule is a good ewe but the Texel Mule makes for a better cross and is easier kept. Some say they’re not prolific enough but we’re getting plenty lambs from them,” he added, pointing out the older Texel Mules are often tupped to the Suffolk to meet the early lamb market, aiming to sell in July for around £100 which ‘fairly helps with the old cash flow’.

“The Beltex cross makes for a hardier sheep too and they’re wee jokers when they’re born, being quick to get on their feet and they don’t take as much filling as a Suffolk.”

The father and son duo aren’t afraid to try out new methods either, and the recent purchase of Shetland ewes is one they might repeat later this year.

“We tried crossing a few Shetland ewes to the Texel to see what would come of it and we’re pretty happy with the results so might cut back on some of the Blackies and increase the Shetlands from the current 50. We might also try tupping some of the Shetlands to the North Country Cheviot to see what we get,” commented Jimmy.

With the cross ewes all lambed inside, Jimmy admitted it’s a fairly high input system with most lambing within a three-week period with help from Graeme’s daughter Emma, and Jimmy’s other granddaughter Chloe, as well as several students brought in each year.

The aim is to finish as many lambs off their mother as possible and by the turn of the year with roughly 35 acres of rape grown each year to help fatten the later lambs. It’s this system that has proved worthwhile at Crookston as the Beltex-sired and heavier lambs meet the top-end of the trade at Harrison and Hetherington’s St Boswells centre. Last year’s lambs peaked at £97.83 for a pen of 36 sold on July 24 which tipped the weigh scales at 45.75kg, with many other lots later in the season passing the £90 mark.

They sell well direct to the processor too with a group of 68 hung up on July 23 at an average weight just short of 20kg, hitting 471p per deadweight kg or £93.50 per head, with the majority grading the most desirable E for conformation.

In order to hit market and abattoir specifications, every lamb is handled and what the team think is nearly ready is drawn out to be weighed and sorted in to weight groups.

It’s all about quality though, as can be seen by the uniform batches of ewes and lambs, and Jimmy is keen to point out that they think they have found a system that works for them.

“I was brought up with Blackface ewes through and through, so it was a big game changer for us coming to Crookston and trying to find a systems to suit us,” he said.

“Even though the industry has changed, I would still rather be where we are now as we’re on a farm capable of carrying good stock. That being said, there are some days when it’s not all plain sailing.

“We aim to sell quality over quantity because, as tenants, all you’ve got is your stock so we want to keep the quality and make sure they are worth something. It might be that there are no Sinclairs wanting to carry on farming here, which again goes back to stock and keeping the quality up so that there’s a value at the end of the day.”

It’s not just sheep in focus at Crookston, however, as the 80 black Limousin cross females are mostly covered by Charolais sires, while heifers are served by a Limousin.

The resulting calves are sold through St Boswells at around 14 months of age, with the latest mixed batch of 20 bullocks and heifers selling at the end of March to average £1073 or 239p per kg at 450kg. This, says Jimmy, was around the same weight as last year but some £40 up on the year.

Environmental issues and conservation are also at the top of the agenda and the pair have worked closely with the Tweed Forum to resolve several issues on the farm.

“We’ve done quite a bit with the Tweed Forum and a lot of it simply helps us to manage the place better. For example, a wet area at the bottom of the hill was planted with a mix of water-loving trees which has made a big difference already,” Jimmy pointed out.

Such has been Jimmy’s work with the forum that he was crowned the 2017 Tweed Forum River Champion, thanks to his efforts to integrate farming, forestry and conservation. This award sits beside the Scottish Silver Salver presented by the National Sheep Association, following his four-year stint as regional chairman.

Despite having an insight to how the industry works at the top level, the future of farming and what happens after Brexit still weighs heavily on Jimmy’s mind.

“I really hope that the future of farming is safe and as for Brexit, the fact that those who should know don’t means there’s no hope for us,” he stated.

“The number of experts saying farmers don’t need any support is rubbish and although we are likely to receive reduced support it makes it look like we have flung in the towel already. When costs are constantly increasing and you want to keep the infrastructure of the farm up to date we, personally, think it would be very difficult to continue without support and it would prove very difficult for us to look too far into the future without it.

“We could go down the environmental route, it’s not rocket science, but support would need to be tied to it in order for a lot more people to turn to it and if wasn’t for the Tweed Forum we wouldn’t have been able to do what we have done here.

“Regardless, lambs are born, calves are born and we just need to keep going and remain fairly optimistic. We may be fortunate in where we are as at least we have some flexibility of what we can do here at Crookston but the true hill farms may find it a struggle,” he added.

That being said, there’s not much that gets Jimmy down and he’s looking forward to attending his 50th Royal Highland Show next week, even though his festivities will be cut short by only attending for the sheep inter-breed championship on the Saturday – a level he never managed to make it to himself although he can boast two reserve Blackface championships, from both Cromlix and Overshiels.

“I’ve been going to the Highland Show for the last 49 years so to be asked to judge the sheep inter-breed was a total surprise but I’m absolutely delighted as not a lot of people get the opportunity,” he said.

“I always enjoy the Highland – every show in fact! But it really is a special event and where you meet up with folk you haven’t seen since last year.

“I’ve not got any ideas of what I’ll like or not, as long as they have a good carcase, mobility and character about them. Once you get to that level, it’s important to have a look at the finer details too.

“But it’s all about what takes your fancy on the day and there’s a fine line between first and second place.

“If you win your own breed, you’re doing very well, so competing in the inter-breed after that is a bonus and to win it is the icing on the cake,” he concluded.

Photographs by Emma Cheape