Oxford Down Sheep Breeders Association AGM

This year’s gathering is fast approaching and will be held at Newlands Farm, Bozeat NN29 7LB by kind permission of J.E.G. James on the 25th August (the bank holiday weekend)

We aim to meet at approx. 10.30 a.m. for tea’s and coffee’s, followed by a mixed stockjudging of dairy cows and Longfriday sheep. Masterjudge is Phil Quick who will present a hamper to the overall winner.

This to be followed by my favourite son-in-law, Seth, practising his B.B.Q. skills.

After lunch we will hold our meeting when Rex Vincent will officially take the helm.

My Longfriday ewes will be available for inspection at the Grange, about 2mins away.

Haydn James is happy to give a milking demo soon after 4.00pm to finish the day.

Martin Johnson 

OXFORD LAMBS TOP RUGBY MART AT £161

A pen of pure Oxford prime lambs topped the sale of new season lambs held at Rugby Farmers Mart, Stoneleigh on 9th April, making £161 per head. Consigned from Martin Johnson's Longfriday flock at Wollaston, Northamptonshire they weighed in at 49.5kg. This excellent sale result demonstrates the outstanding weight for age performance that the Oxford is capable of and shows that the breed can compete with, and indeed, outperform the Texel, Charollais and other terminal sire breeds.

BILLESDONS LEADS MELTON MOWBRAY AT 520GNS

Top price for Oxford Downs at the Melton Mowbray native breeds sale was a 520gns bid for a Billesdons shearling ram by Horsley Uncle Bob from Vickie Jones, Husbands Bosworth, Lutterworth, Leicestershire. It sold for commercial use to regular Oxford ram buyer Reg Phillips, Bridge House Farm, Ladmanlow, Buxton, Derbyshire.

The same buyer also went to 370gns for a shearling ram by Barley Park Pegasus from Roger & Sue Banks’ Thistledown flock from Holly Croft Farm, Great Ellingham, Norfolk. Next best from the Thistledown pen was a 240gns sale to B Hall, Church Farm, Caston, Attleborough, Norfolk for another shearling ram bred the same way.

In the females, Roger & Sue Banks had a string of good prices, selling a shearling ewe by Barley Park Pegasus at 240gns to J Burford, Woodborough, Nottingham followed by sales of 210gns and 200gns for ewe lambs by Horsley Brexit Bob, which both went to Lancashire breeder Chloe Bowker, Balderstone Hall Farm, Balderstone, Blackburn.

Buckinghamshire vet Philip Ivens from Ash Tree House, Wicken, Milton Keynes, sold four shearling ewes by Netherby Ambition to a top of 185gns, with all four selling to the same buyer, B Hall, Church Farm, Caston to establish a new flock in Norfolk.

Averages

5 shearling ewes sold to 240gns and averaged £194.25

2 ewe lambs sold to 210gns and averaged £215.25

3 shearling rams sold to 520gns and averaged £395.50

3 ram lambs sold to 160gns and averaged £126.00

Overall 13 head sold to 520gns and averaged £228.17.

Auctioneers: Melton Market Auctioneers