NSA Northern region farm walk

NSA Northern Region invites members and those interested in the sheep industry to attend an evening farm walk at ColtPark Farm, Morpeth, by kind permission of R & J Oglesby.

R & J Oglesby Farming is ran in partnership by Rich and Jen Oglesby who farm Coltpark Farms in a Contract Farming Agreement with the Orde Family. Rich and Jen are new entrants to agriculture and started their business purchasing 40 ewes in 2015. Coltpark Farm is based near Rothbury Northumberland, the 580 Ha farm is an upland grassland farm with occasional forage crops for finishing lambs. The business is predominantly a sheep farm running 1700 ewes and 400 ewe lambs, of which they aim to lamb 250 as ewe lambs sired by Shetland rams for lambing ease. The ewes are predominantly Lleyn and NZ Romney x Lleyn with Hampshire Rams also used as terminal sires. However the breeding program has had a change in direction in the last 12 months as they now aim to produce their own wool shedding sheep, crossing wool shedding breeds onto their original ewes. The sheep business is ran alongside a suckler beef herd of 100 Aberdeen Angus cows, all the cattle are out wintered on deferred/ bale grazing, calves are grass reared and sold as stores in November except for replacement heifers. Coltpark Farm also runs 100 Red deer hinds producing venison for Dovecote Park. 

The sheep are ran extensively and everything lambs outside between mid April till mid May. Most of the lambs are finished off grass or forage crops by November when the remaining lambs are sold as stores to build grass covers ready for tupping. The Lleyn and NZ Romney ewes are winter clipped then housed on silage for 6 weeks before being turned back out pre lambing. This is to build grass covers pre lambing and also reduces work load in summer not having to clip the ewes whilst rearing lambs. Ewes are set stocked at the beginning of April for lambing then start a loose rotation 20th of May when some fields are shut up for silage. Ewes and lambs are then rotated separately after weaning. The farm also has a Countryside Stewardship Scheme and a new Sustainable Farming Incentive Scheme. 

For more information, please contact Northern Region Manager Chris: chris@nationalsheep.org.uk