Hill sheep farming is not the easiest of farming enterprises at times but when talking to Jimmy Bell and Rachel Buckle Porter we found out from them it’s not just a business for them it is their way of life.
They are situated on Birniehall farm just outside Lanark in Scotland.
Alongside managing the 2,000-acre hill farm for the Delserf estate, they run their own flock of hill ewes and a flock of pedigree lowland ewes made up of Bluefaced Leicesters, Beltex and Dutch Spotted.
The land is split into a total of three blocks. It is the Swaledale ewes that are at the heart of the breeding programme for Rachel and Jimmy on both the Delserf estate and their own hill flock.
Known in England as the ‘Queen of the hills’, it is no different on this farm.
A selection of the mature Swaledale stock ewes.
The Swaledales have made a big impact on the business for Rachel and Jimmy, being one of the most commercially viable hill breeds.
With her strong maternal traits and ability to thrive on harsh terrain she is an ideal ewe for the sometimes very harsh weathered Scottish uplands.
Alongside a very busy schedule of breeding and managing sheep Rachel is also the breed secretary for the Swaledale Sheep Breeders’ Association.
Delserf Estate
Jimmy manages the 2,000-acre hill farm for the Delserf estate.
This farm carries just over 500 ewes made up of around 300 purebred Swaledale ewes and 200 purebred Blackie ewes.
Lambing is all outdoors in April, so this is why having a hardy ewe with good mothering ability is so important for Rachel and Jimmy.
All of the ewes on the estate are run as pedigree with pedigree Swaledale and Blackie rams to breed high quality replacement ewes to keep improving the flock each year.
All of the replacements for the estate are bred on farm to keep a closed flock and only rams are bought in. Breeding all replacements also gives the advantage that the ewes learn the ways of the hill from their mothers.
Due to the harsh environment of the uplands selling off any of the older draft ewes and culling any ewes with underlying problems is very important for the flock to remain with as little problems as possible.
The ram lambs are all wethered with the Blackie wethers being sold in the local store lamb rings and the Swaledale wethers kept on farm till finish.
Breeding English Mules
Jimmy and Rachel's top Bluefaced Leicester ewe lamb, that has won many championships this summer.
On their own hill flock Jimmy and Rachel keep 300 to 320 pedigree Swaledale ewes. The 100 top pedigree ewes are mated with the Swaledale ram to breed top quality replacements for the flock and the other 200 to 220 ewes are mated with the Bluefaced Leicester ram to breed high end English Mules.
Breeding these Mule lambs has been very successful for Rachel and Jimmy over the years with all the lambs being sold locally each year to repeat buyers. The large majority of the ewe lambs each year are sold to Alan Struthers.
Alan then winters the ewe lambs alongside his cattle and then sells them on as hoggets. Any of the surplus Mule ewe lambs that remain unsold are kept and mated with the Beltex ram, to produce premier end store lambs.
Bluefaced Leicesters
Breeding Bluefaced Leicesters and breeding Mules goes hand in hand for Rachel and Jimmy. With the high-quality Bluefaced Leicester rams on farm, it gives them a large advantage to use some of the best quality Bluefaced Leicester genetics in the breed on their quality Swaledale ewes to breed those top end Mules.
They run just a small flock of 20 high quality pure Bluefaced Leicester ewes.
One of the most recent additions to the flock was the top priced 16,000gns (€20,175) ram lamb from the recent Bluefaced Leicester sale in Ballymena.
The Bluefaced Leicester flock has been very successful over the years for the duo winning many shows and always selling into good averages.
This year’s strong sale team of ram lambs will be destined for a number of different sales in the coming month.
Beltex and Dutch Spotted
A selection of the Bluefaced Leicester and Beltex stock ewe lambs, including many summer show winners.
Alongside the Bluefaced Leicester flock on the rented lowland farm, Jimmy and Rachel run a flock of 40 pedigree Beltex ewes and in recent years have also set up a small flock of high-quality Dutch Spotted ewes.
These two breeds have also proven themselves to be very successful for the due winning many local shows and having many sale toppers.
The majority of the Beltex and Dutch Spotted lambs and shearlings are sold in Borderway Market Carlisle and Lanark.
Many of these lambs and shearlings go on to sell to top pedigree flocks across the UK and Ireland.
Esteemed judges
Alongside their busy schedule, both Rachel and Jimmy are esteemed pedigree sheep judges. They have been all over the UK and Ireland judging sheep across many different breeds.
One of the most recent shows they have judged in Ireland was Finn Valley Show in county Donegal, where Rachel had the tough task of judging the All-Ireland Dutch Spotted championships and on the day Jimmy also judged an extremely competitive commercial sheep section.
Jimmy Bell and Rachel Buckle Porter pictured on their farm.
Farm map: Lanark Scotland.Farming 2,000 acres of hill land just outside Lanark, Scotland. Breeds: Swaledale, Blackie, Bluefaced Leicester, Beltex and Dutch Spotted. Ewe numbers: Just under 900 breeding ewes between three farms.
Hill sheep farming is not the easiest of farming enterprises at times but when talking to Jimmy Bell and Rachel Buckle Porter we found out from them it’s not just a business for them it is their way of life.
They are situated on Birniehall farm just outside Lanark in Scotland.
Alongside managing the 2,000-acre hill farm for the Delserf estate, they run their own flock of hill ewes and a flock of pedigree lowland ewes made up of Bluefaced Leicesters, Beltex and Dutch Spotted.
The land is split into a total of three blocks. It is the Swaledale ewes that are at the heart of the breeding programme for Rachel and Jimmy on both the Delserf estate and their own hill flock.
Known in England as the ‘Queen of the hills’, it is no different on this farm.
A selection of the mature Swaledale stock ewes.
The Swaledales have made a big impact on the business for Rachel and Jimmy, being one of the most commercially viable hill breeds.
With her strong maternal traits and ability to thrive on harsh terrain she is an ideal ewe for the sometimes very harsh weathered Scottish uplands.
Alongside a very busy schedule of breeding and managing sheep Rachel is also the breed secretary for the Swaledale Sheep Breeders’ Association.
Delserf Estate
Jimmy manages the 2,000-acre hill farm for the Delserf estate.
This farm carries just over 500 ewes made up of around 300 purebred Swaledale ewes and 200 purebred Blackie ewes.
Lambing is all outdoors in April, so this is why having a hardy ewe with good mothering ability is so important for Rachel and Jimmy.
All of the ewes on the estate are run as pedigree with pedigree Swaledale and Blackie rams to breed high quality replacement ewes to keep improving the flock each year.
All of the replacements for the estate are bred on farm to keep a closed flock and only rams are bought in. Breeding all replacements also gives the advantage that the ewes learn the ways of the hill from their mothers.
Due to the harsh environment of the uplands selling off any of the older draft ewes and culling any ewes with underlying problems is very important for the flock to remain with as little problems as possible.
The ram lambs are all wethered with the Blackie wethers being sold in the local store lamb rings and the Swaledale wethers kept on farm till finish.
Breeding English Mules
Jimmy and Rachel's top Bluefaced Leicester ewe lamb, that has won many championships this summer.
On their own hill flock Jimmy and Rachel keep 300 to 320 pedigree Swaledale ewes. The 100 top pedigree ewes are mated with the Swaledale ram to breed top quality replacements for the flock and the other 200 to 220 ewes are mated with the Bluefaced Leicester ram to breed high end English Mules.
Breeding these Mule lambs has been very successful for Rachel and Jimmy over the years with all the lambs being sold locally each year to repeat buyers. The large majority of the ewe lambs each year are sold to Alan Struthers.
Alan then winters the ewe lambs alongside his cattle and then sells them on as hoggets. Any of the surplus Mule ewe lambs that remain unsold are kept and mated with the Beltex ram, to produce premier end store lambs.
Bluefaced Leicesters
Breeding Bluefaced Leicesters and breeding Mules goes hand in hand for Rachel and Jimmy. With the high-quality Bluefaced Leicester rams on farm, it gives them a large advantage to use some of the best quality Bluefaced Leicester genetics in the breed on their quality Swaledale ewes to breed those top end Mules.
They run just a small flock of 20 high quality pure Bluefaced Leicester ewes.
One of the most recent additions to the flock was the top priced 16,000gns (€20,175) ram lamb from the recent Bluefaced Leicester sale in Ballymena.
The Bluefaced Leicester flock has been very successful over the years for the duo winning many shows and always selling into good averages.
This year’s strong sale team of ram lambs will be destined for a number of different sales in the coming month.
Beltex and Dutch Spotted
A selection of the Bluefaced Leicester and Beltex stock ewe lambs, including many summer show winners.
Alongside the Bluefaced Leicester flock on the rented lowland farm, Jimmy and Rachel run a flock of 40 pedigree Beltex ewes and in recent years have also set up a small flock of high-quality Dutch Spotted ewes.
These two breeds have also proven themselves to be very successful for the due winning many local shows and having many sale toppers.
The majority of the Beltex and Dutch Spotted lambs and shearlings are sold in Borderway Market Carlisle and Lanark.
Many of these lambs and shearlings go on to sell to top pedigree flocks across the UK and Ireland.
Esteemed judges
Alongside their busy schedule, both Rachel and Jimmy are esteemed pedigree sheep judges. They have been all over the UK and Ireland judging sheep across many different breeds.
One of the most recent shows they have judged in Ireland was Finn Valley Show in county Donegal, where Rachel had the tough task of judging the All-Ireland Dutch Spotted championships and on the day Jimmy also judged an extremely competitive commercial sheep section.
Jimmy Bell and Rachel Buckle Porter pictured on their farm.
Farm map: Lanark Scotland.Farming 2,000 acres of hill land just outside Lanark, Scotland. Breeds: Swaledale, Blackie, Bluefaced Leicester, Beltex and Dutch Spotted. Ewe numbers: Just under 900 breeding ewes between three farms. 
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