In 2014, farming in North Herefordshire across Croft Castle and Berrington Hall National Trust estates, William Cawley joined his father’s business covering nearly 1000 acres supporting dairy, sheep and crops. Already running 600 Suffolk cross North Country Mules for many years, in 2018 their landlord’s decision to reclaim the lambing sheds, set the wheels in motion to fundamentally change their approach.
William and his father were facing a big challenge when the National Trust decided to take back into their stewardship Cawley Farm’s lambing sheds. William takes up the story. “We’d always lambed indoors, but in 2018 the National Trust wanted to take the lambing sheds back in hand, as they were thought to be of historical importance.
"They were built in one of the few surviving walled gardens designed by Capability Brown in the UK and the National Trust were looking to recreate it. With this change in mind, we had to consider what we could do to adapt without a big investment into new infrastructure. We saw this as an opportunity to really analyse what we were doing with the sheep. It's easy to keep doing what you’ve always done, but the easy option isn’t necessarily the best option.”
“It's easy to keep doing what you’ve always done, but the easy option isn’t necessarily the best option.”
For William, flock genetics are key and swapping to a breed that lambs outdoors was the logical, most cost-effective step, as he explains, “We were already running the dairy herd very efficiently on a low-cost low-input system, so naturally we wanted to reflect this with the sheep too.
“We demand a lot from our sheep, we’re not able to grow the highest quality grass, largely down to the restrictions on the land in the tenancy agreement.
“We also can’t carry out any intensive grazing, not that the land would suit it anyway, as we’re mostly working with long-term pastures and permanent leys with multiple footpaths crossing them.
“This adds to the pressure of rearing high-efficiency animals, but in relative terms, efficiency will look different depending on the farm and individual circumstances. “Our flock is also under a lot of worm pressure too due to the old, low-nutrient pastures.”
To fulfil the brief, William decided to transition to the low-maintenance, hardy breeds of EasyCare and Exlana ewes, and today he has around 1,200 ewes lambing in spring.
To ensure the best performance from the flock, capturing, monitoring and measuring data is key and William began by capturing data for the Signet Breeding Services database to identify estimated breeding values (EBVs). William again, “This allows me to look at selecting the best ewes within the flock to breed from and for customers buying rams to select for the traits they’re interested in too.”
William then decided on iLivestock, to simplify and speed up the business of data capture and recording.
“Since using iLivestock, we’ve ultimately been able to improve our ability to rear better breeding stock, as it allows us to pinpoint issues early and act on them quickly.”
Adding, "Before we started using the software to record data, we were doing a lot of manual recording, and it was hard to keep track of individual ewes and their performance.
“Now everything's right there at our fingertips. Each sheep’s data, including breeding history, health records, and lambing performance, is easily accessible on our phones.
“The software tracks traits like fertility, how easily they lamb, and how well they raise their lambs. I can see which ewes are producing the best offspring and focus on breeding from them.”
William continues, “It’s really helped manage our breeding programme, as we can use the data to produce animals focused on a shedding maternal sheep that’s highly efficient on a low input, low system.
“But it's not all about numbers; it’s about making informed decisions that lead to better performance year after year. With the tools we have now, we’re set up for long-term success, and it’s exciting to see how the flock continues to improve.”
iLivestock’s vision is better, more sustainable and profitable farming. To do this they’re making data work harder for sheep and cattle farmers through cost-effective, robust and simple-to-use data management tools.
iLivestock CEO Ewen Wardman explains: “We’ve seen massive technological advances being made across farming sectors in the UK over the last decade, particularly for arable systems, but it’s time to make it more accessible for livestock and mixed enterprises.”
Partnering with Rappa, a leading livestock handling equipment manufacturer, iLivestock delivers a fully integrated weighing and data capture and management platform. Their unique subscription also helps ensure the platform is within reach of entry level and small farms, as well as larger enterprises, delivering the latest tech at an affordable level. And it’s not just about the software and hardware, farmers need confidence that it will work.
Ewen again, “We understand how frustrating it is when technology stops working or breaks, which is why we also provide no-quibble replacements and repairs to avoid any dips in efficiency.
“This gives farmers complete peace of mind they’ll be able to use the technology they’re investing in, to its full potential.”
Photo credit: farmers recording sheep data on farm - Directdriller.com
As featured in Tech Farmer Magazine Issue no. 29, Directdriller.com | 'Data driven flock management delivers success for Herefordshire sheep breeder', November 2024