Following a successful pilot initiative, the Beltex Sheep Society (BSS, is now ready to roll out Signet performance recording to all its members. Angela Calvert reports.

THE Beltex has laid solid foundations since it was first imported 20 years ago, BSS council member, David Findlay told a briefing at Askham Bryan College last week.

Demand has been successfully driven by commercial producers looking to produce a premium lamb for the butcher's market.

The Beltex, with its double muscling and hindquarters, has become firmly established as the, carcase breed,  particularly in the north of England and Scotland, where selection tends to be based on the eye.

Up until now, unlike most terminal sire breeds, the society has not had a performance recording scheme.

However, the Society's Council is aware it needs to develop a modern, professional approach to marketing which will continue to take the breed forward.

Unique criteria

As a result of working with Signet on a pilot scheme, we are now confident we have a performance recording system in place with a unique set of recording criteria, which will suit the breed.

We wanted to be sure we could accurately measure gigot depth, and advances in CT scanning have now enabled us to do this.

     The aim is to ensure we keep the breed traits we like and improve others. The recording scheme should benefit both breeders and purchasers, and I personally am looking forward to being able to use it as a management tool, to identify the best sheep in my flock and improve the quality of the sheep I produce.”

Beltex have become increasingly popular with sheep producers, and BSS sheep registrations have risen from 4,500 to 7,500 over the last five years. Mr Finlay is aware of the need to open up new markets.

He said: "We aim to target the larger sheep producers further south, such as big estates in the south of England and Wales, which tend to sell deadweight, on a grid system."

Performance Recording