Producing top quality stock is the ultimate goal for father and daughter duo, Andy Beattie and Lauren Kennedy, from Carlaustan, Kippen who believe they have found the ideal in the Dutch Spotted.

Having predominantly spent his early career as a sheep shearer, Andy settled as a tenant farmer for at Milton of Cambus Farm, located at Doune for 18 years where he farmed 820 acres and was home to 1800 ewes and 180 cattle. It was in 2008 that he and his family made the decision to leave the farm and move into the construction and ground works industry, however, his heart still remained in sheep farming.

"It was really the Dutch Spotted that tempted me back into a bit of farming and given that Lauren was so interested in the farm when she was younger, I asked if she wanted to join me on the venture," said Andy, who also relies on his son, Stuart and wife, Carolyn helping at the busy times of the year.

The family now reside at the small holding, Carlaustan, where they own 10 acres of grassland as well as rent a further 40 acres from a neighbouring holding which is home to 30 pedigree females and 35 cross sheep. The Dutch Spotted flock was established in August 2019, with the purchase of a gimmer and a ewe lamb at the breed society sale held at Carlisle, followed by the importation of 20 ewe lambs from Holland.

"Everybody said that the Dutch Spotted were quiet sheep to work with and they have certainly lived up to my expectations. I really liked style of body on the sheep, as well as the good carcass and temperament they presented," he explained.

The Dutch Spotted have not only opened doors into the world of pedigree breeding for Andy and Lauren but have also proved a reliable terminal sire for producing quality commercial sheep.

"We were mainly interested in the pedigree side, however, the Dutch Spotted is a great alternative to the other continental terminal sires on the market. They produce easy lambed and vigorous offspring that can be fattened on grass alone," stated Lauren.

"We initially purchased 14 Lleyn ewes to use as recipients but we tupped them with a Dutch Spotted and were delighted with the results."

The family rely on Lleyn and Hampshire Down cross ewes to produce their commercial Dutch Spotted lambs, all of which are locally sourced from Irene Steel at Pow Black Farm, with six females bought in per year as replacements. Having built up female numbers on the pedigree side, Andy and Lauren are now looking to solely rely on their own genetics when it comes to maintaining a young flock.

"We are looking to retain between eight and 10 pedigree females per year and focus on only retaining anything that has length, carcass, good legs and a full mouth," commented Andy.

With that in mind, the family rely on the same standards when it comes to purchasing top quality sires at the premier sale at Carlisle, with their current stock tup proving to be their best investment yet.

"When we are looking to buy, carcass and skin are important, however, it's all about balancing out what your flock needs and introducing a ram that will level the playing field," Lauren explained.

"We bought Tiptop Diablo for 4000gns at Carlisle in August, 2020, in partnership with the Myreside flock which is located in the Borders. He really has left his stamp of the lambs coming through, producing progeny with style and substance.

"Another good buy was a Sabbock tup lamb, bought from Devon which has bred well and we plan on offering some more females to him this year," she added.

Stock rams head out to the ewes on September 7 with lambing kicking off indoors on February 1. The family have also relied on embryo transfer (ET) work over the past few years to help build up stock numbers, with five donor ewes selected out the flock and a total of 25 recipients ready to be used depending on the quantity of good embryos that are received.

There is certainly no special treatment when it comes to the flock, with all ewes receiving a lick bucket during tupping and throughout the pregnancy, with haylage only introduced if there is a shortage of grass. Ewes are brought indoors in the first week of January, with twin bearing ewes fed one pound of 18% high protein rolls and single bearing ewes receiving half a pound.

Once born, lambs receive a treatment for watery mouth and navels are sprayed before being moved to an individual pen. All ewes and lambs are retained indoors until April when both the weather and grass conditions have improved.

Weaning takes place in July, with ewe lambs introduced to a champion course mix purchased from LS Smellie and Sons, whilst the tup lambs are fed a Norvite mix in order to improve condition through weaning and towards sale times. The family have also built up a good reputation at local markets, with the first of this year's crop of lambs already proving their worth.

"We sold half a dozen 12-week-old Dutch Spotted-sired wedder lambs through Caledonian Marts, in Stirling, which weighed 46kg and sold to £158 per head. This just goes to show the commercial value these lambs demand in the live ring which is fantastic for the breed," said Andy.

As well as local market dominance, Andy and Lauren also sell stock privately and through Carlisle and Welshpool, with last year's crop of 18 tups averaging £1200 with females cashing in at £2800 for six sold.

"Last year, we sold a pair of lambs – specifically a tup and ewe – for £2500 per head to Emma Shortt's renowned Diamond flock, over in Ireland, where she went on to sell the ewe lamb at the 'Big Bang' sale in November for 8000gns," Lauren added.

"They’ve retained the tup lamb as their stock tup, which has sired most of their 2022 crop – all of which is quite surreal as we have only been in the breed for a few years."

The family also cross some of their Dutch Spotted-sired gimmers back to the Dutch Spotted and sell 3/4 in-lamb females through Welshpool each year, with last year's batch levelling at £510 for 12 sold.

Andy and Lauren are strong supporters of both local and larger agricultural show's, with the duo having enjoyed some success this year after standing as inter-breed sheep at Doune and Dunblane, as well as third in their class at the Royal Highland with Tiptop Diablo.

Looking to the future of the breed and their flock Andy concluded: "We are quite happy with the numbers we are sitting at currently and are delighted with the progeny coming through this year.

"In terms of the future of the breed, once the commercial man gets started with them and more commercial lambs start coming though the market, hopefully the breed will rise to new heights. Dutch Spotted-sired lambs are topping the sales more and more each week and I believe there is always going to be a market for them. Even though there are a lot of hobby breeders involved within the breed, there are also some big commercial units that are now looking for alternatives to which the Dutch Spotted fits the bill...making them a breed that really can suit anyone!

If you're looking for some quality Dutch Spotted stock, the Carlaustan team will have eight tup lambs, two shearling rams and four ewe lambs forward for Carlisle at the end of August, as well as eight tup lambs, one pure female and six grade four cross lambs at Welshpool.

FARMfacts:

Family – Andy Beattie and daughter, Lauren Kennedy own and manage the Carlaustan Dutch Spotted flock with the help of son, Stuart, and Andy's wife, Carolyn. Lauren's children, Connie and Callum, have also been given two Dutch Spotted ewes each.

Sheep – Carlaustan is home to 30 pedigree Dutch Spotted females and 35 cross ewes which are used as recipients and to produce commercial lambs. Tups head out to ewes in September with lambing taking place indoors in February. All ewes are fed an 18% high energy feed bought in from LS Smellie and Sons.

Lambs – Pedigree males and females are sold privately, as well as through Carlisle and Welshpool. Cross sheep are sold through Welshpool and wedder lambs through Caledonian Marts, Stirling.

ONTHEspot:

Best investment?: Our shed from Robinsons for wintering and lambing in.

Biggest achievement?: That we managed to build a construction and groundworks business post farming and sold it to a stock exchange listed German company.

Favourite restaurant?: La Cucina in Bridge of Allan.

Best advice?: Listen to everything because you are always learning.