Support Ulster Wool says Dungiven sheep farmer

Alwyn McFarlane and his family farm at Dungiven in County Londonderry and are well known to sheep farmers across Northern Ireland.  After a successful breeding sale season, Alwyn speaks to Ulster Wool and encourages farmers to support and get their wool delivered into Ulster Wool ahead of the winter months:

How have the breeding sales gone for you?

It’s been a good season, the best year ever selling breeding stock - Texel Mule ewe lambs topping £154, Suffolk Cross ewe lambs came in at £148 and the Blackface gimmers topped at £270.  Despite Covid-19 restrictions and the challenging time we continue to be in, it’s been a good year on the breeding stock and I’ve had a lot of returning customers from previous years.

What has been your experience been under Covid-19 restrictions?

Covid-19 has proved a challenging time in many ways but the network of collection sites operating on behalf of Ulster Wool have provided a high level of service throughout.

All the livestock sales have been well managed under restrictions with only buyers and sellers attending. The MartEye app has been a real success and helped support the industry during these very different times and a lot of marts have set up their own online auction facilities which is a real credit to everyone.

Tell us a bit about your breeds of sheep.

1,100 scotch mule ewes - predominant sires are Texel’s & Suffolk’s.  We run 400 Lanark Blackface ewes - 200 are kept pure and the others to the Bluefaced Leicester.

With the ewe lambs from the mule ewes - 90% go for further breeding and 10% for slaughter.  We buy in Blackface mule ewe lambs from Scotland every year to run over for the gimmers - they stay there for the winter.

Wool is such a natural and versatile product.  The Scotch Mule produces a semi-lustrous fleece weighing on average between 2.75 – 4 kilos - this wool would generally be used in carpet blends. The Blackface produces a bulky fleece which typically weights 2 – 3 kilos per fleece.  Most of this wool is ideally suited for carpets with some used in Scottish and Irish tweed cloth.

Provide an overview of tupping time (preparations/planning)

The tups went out in the last couple of weeks, we’re only using the raddle this year. There’s no preparation as such, we try and keep the ewes in good order all year if we can. The average scanning over the last 10 years for the mule ewes is 207%.

What advice would you give to farmers that still have wool on farm?

As people start thinking about clearing their sheds, I’d advise any farmer who has not already done so, to get their wool into Ulster Wool.  Some of the collection sites closed at the end of October, some will be closing over the coming weeks but the Ulster Wool grading depot in Antrim is open all year round.  I’d advise farmers to make contact with the depot on 028 9446 2131 for arrangements on collection sites in their area, or to arrange delivery.

Many will be disappointed and frustrated by the returns we are having for our wool this year but Ulster Wool are working hard on our behalf, representing our best interests.  Wool is a natural fibre that will deteriorate over time - it will absorb moisture from its environment if not treated (scoured) and will attract insects.  Wool isn’t gold - it’s not going to increase in value the longer it sits, it will only loose quality and that’s less back to the farmer at the end of the day.

When would you usually deliver your wool and where do you take it?

I deliver to my local collection site in Dungiven and as soon as each mob is shorn, it goes.  It’s not a product to lie about - it discolors and loses quality so my thoughts are to get it to the depot and graded as soon as we can.

I live in a positive farming community, we all get on well together, some farmers have different opinions as to where their wool goes, but we have always sent ours to Ulster Wool and will continue to support them. They take all types of wool with many confusing Ulster Wool with wool merchants.  Ulster Wool sells on our behalf with their main objective being to achieve the best price for the farmer and in marketing our wool across the UK and the world market - China is only a small part of it.  Yes, prices are disappointing this year but we all know why this is and the impact Covid-19 has had on the wool sector.  By supporting Ulster Wool, I believe this is our best opportunity in adding value to our wool in the long term.

For more information on delivering your wool to Ulster Wool, please contact our Muckamore Depot on 028 9446 2131.