Host Farm
The hosts for NSA North Sheep 2009 are the Stott family, whose farming operations are based at Laund Farm, Chipping, Preston, a Lancashire hill unit where a traditional sheep enterprise is complemented by a diversification business featuring milk sheep.
The Stott family, John and Christine, and their son Simon his wife Rachel, believe that their farming business is well positioned for the future.
Not only do they implement a successful traditional hill farming strategy, producing quality Mule gimmer lambs, but also a modern milk sheep enterprise, supplying a growing, health-conscious market.
"We're a sheep farming family through and through," says John. "We're focused on maximising production and adding value where ever possible."
The Stotts farm 500 acres, all of which are in the LFA, rising to 650' and beyond. Their traditional sheep enterprise comprises flocks of 500 Swaledale ewes, 120 Beulah ewes and 50 pedigree Bluefaced Leicesters, plus a 400-ewe Friesland flock, 30 cow sucklers and 20 pedigree Simmental cows.
It was John's father, the late John Stott, who pioneered the Bluefaced Leicester in Lancashire over 50 years ago and started breeding what was soon to become the indomitable Mule.
"The Mule is the most outstanding damline available - she is easy care for and has potential to produce more saleable lambs per ewe finished off grass than any other breed," says John junior.
Over the decades, the Stotts have been focused on improving quality, and today 50 per cent of the family's the income is derived from Mule gimmer lambs, sold through local marts to repeat local buyers.
However, for John it's the Bluefaced Leicester flock which takes pride of place at Laund Farm.
"We're always seeking to improve conformation and are currently pleased with progeny by recently introduced Hewgill and Neusclough bloodlines. We sell at the society sales up and down the country and aim to be within the day's top half of average prices."
A founder breed society member and former chairman, John is its newly elected president and at NSA North Sheep 2009, he will have the opportunity to launch its new promotional vehicle, UK Mules.
Back in the late 1990s, the Stotts decided to diversify and introduce a complementary milk sheep enterprise, which now supplies the other half of their income.
John explains: "Simon had committed to joining the business - however, we agreed we needed regular income to supplement our annual harvest from breeding stock sales.
"We felt equipped. We had a strong core farming business, which is absolutely essential before launching a new enterprise. Then we used common sense and decided we would only explore new ventures which we were comfortable with - ones to which we could apply our technical know-how."
Simon continues: "At the time, a local milk sheep enterprise was searching for more milk in an attempt to build economies of scale, in what was then a relatively new sector. Milking sheep appealed to us, start-up costs for a 100-sheep unit were relatively small compared with a dairy cow unit, so we began a lot of homework.
"We talked to other milk sheep producers, travelled to Holland to look at parlours, carefully researched the market and called numerous dairies. We found sheep milk and its certain health properties was stimulating a fast-growing consumer demand."
The Stotts initially invested in 100 pure Friesland sheep and within four years grew the enterprise to 400 head, yielding an average 650 litres per 10.5 month lactation.
Having created that critical supply demand situation, in 2004 they launched Sheep Milk UK, a co-operative of producers which has since grown to six members located within 50 miles of Laund Farm, and this year is scheduled to increase to a projected 600,000 litres.
Milk is currently sold to a number of dairies, taking up to 8,000 litres per week, with 95 per cent processed mainly into cheese. Branded product, including Parlick Fell cheese, can be found on selected supermarket shelves throughout the country.
The Stotts say they have reached equilibrium as far as their Friesland flock's scale of operations is concerned, simply because it is relatively labour intensive. Both daily milkings each involve two people and take five hours in total through a 12x24 herringbone parlour. All ewes are milk recorded, they're put to progeny tested rams and the flock is split lambed to ensure a 12 month milk supply.
Frieslands are prolific with an average 2.5 lambs reared; 25 per cent of the ewe lambs bred from the highest performing ewes with good udder attachment are selected as replacements, while the remainder, including the wethers, are finished from 14 weeks and 42kgs liveweight and sold to either through local auction marts or deadweight.
Simon also supplies lambs to his sister Mandy, who runs a butcher's shop with husband, Tim Hamlet, in nearby Garstang.
The family is, however, focused on developing the Sheep Milk UK co-operative.
Simon says: "We firmly believe there is real potential to grow this element of the health-conscious market by finding new members to join Sheep Milk UK, increase the volume of milk available for processing, and introduce new products, including yoghurt.
"Like all things in life, it's achieving a balance. We feel we've arrived at that point in our sheep farming operations. However, we're not afraid to embrace new ideas in future to maintain a sustainable family farming business."
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Not only do they implement a successful traditional hill farming strategy, producing quality Mule gimmer lambs, but also a modern milk sheep enterprise, supplying a growing, health-conscious market.
"We're a sheep farming family through and through," says John. "We're focused on maximising production and adding value where ever possible."
 |
It was John's father, the late John Stott, who pioneered the Bluefaced Leicester in Lancashire over 50 years ago and started breeding what was soon to become the indomitable Mule.
"The Mule is the most outstanding damline available - she is easy care for and has potential to produce more saleable lambs per ewe finished off grass than any other breed," says John junior.
Over the decades, the Stotts have been focused on improving quality, and today 50 per cent of the family's the income is derived from Mule gimmer lambs, sold through local marts to repeat local buyers.
 |
"We're always seeking to improve conformation and are currently pleased with progeny by recently introduced Hewgill and Neusclough bloodlines. We sell at the society sales up and down the country and aim to be within the day's top half of average prices."
A founder breed society member and former chairman, John is its newly elected president and at NSA North Sheep 2009, he will have the opportunity to launch its new promotional vehicle, UK Mules.
Back in the late 1990s, the Stotts decided to diversify and introduce a complementary milk sheep enterprise, which now supplies the other half of their income.
John explains: "Simon had committed to joining the business - however, we agreed we needed regular income to supplement our annual harvest from breeding stock sales.
"We felt equipped. We had a strong core farming business, which is absolutely essential before launching a new enterprise. Then we used common sense and decided we would only explore new ventures which we were comfortable with - ones to which we could apply our technical know-how."
Simon continues: "At the time, a local milk sheep enterprise was searching for more milk in an attempt to build economies of scale, in what was then a relatively new sector. Milking sheep appealed to us, start-up costs for a 100-sheep unit were relatively small compared with a dairy cow unit, so we began a lot of homework.
 |
The Stotts initially invested in 100 pure Friesland sheep and within four years grew the enterprise to 400 head, yielding an average 650 litres per 10.5 month lactation.
Having created that critical supply demand situation, in 2004 they launched Sheep Milk UK, a co-operative of producers which has since grown to six members located within 50 miles of Laund Farm, and this year is scheduled to increase to a projected 600,000 litres.
 |
The Stotts say they have reached equilibrium as far as their Friesland flock's scale of operations is concerned, simply because it is relatively labour intensive. Both daily milkings each involve two people and take five hours in total through a 12x24 herringbone parlour. All ewes are milk recorded, they're put to progeny tested rams and the flock is split lambed to ensure a 12 month milk supply.
Frieslands are prolific with an average 2.5 lambs reared; 25 per cent of the ewe lambs bred from the highest performing ewes with good udder attachment are selected as replacements, while the remainder, including the wethers, are finished from 14 weeks and 42kgs liveweight and sold to either through local auction marts or deadweight.
Simon also supplies lambs to his sister Mandy, who runs a butcher's shop with husband, Tim Hamlet, in nearby Garstang.
The family is, however, focused on developing the Sheep Milk UK co-operative.
Simon says: "We firmly believe there is real potential to grow this element of the health-conscious market by finding new members to join Sheep Milk UK, increase the volume of milk available for processing, and introduce new products, including yoghurt.
"Like all things in life, it's achieving a balance. We feel we've arrived at that point in our sheep farming operations. However, we're not afraid to embrace new ideas in future to maintain a sustainable family farming business."
