3/17/2024 0 Comments Famous irish female dog trainer![]() ![]() “The most enjoyable aspect of sheep farming is selling when the price is good, and the most challenging aspect is selling when the price is bad.” ![]() They sold all lambs as stores until recently, but they intend to fatten progeny going forward as they are now on “a better quality farm”. “Lambing takes place during this period because there is grass then, days linger for lambing outside, and it is warmer.” “We just lamb in April to suit what the ewe would do naturally and find we have very few ewes return.” We do not use cameras to assist with the lambing season.” Although some nights, a bad forecast can outweigh the benefits of outdoor lambing. “We lamb wholly outdoors we find it is best for keeping disease to a minimum and use virtually no antibiotics. Also, with the massive increase in acreage, we needed mouths on the ground.” We could not really afford anything else. “Also, we recently purchased 100 Welsh Mountain ewes this year. In terms of scale, sheep farming is the farm’s primary activity, with cross-bred mules, Texels and Suffolks dominating the pastures. She farms alongside her husband, Ewan, who has recently hung up his boots as a full-time firefighter to become a full-time farmer. They also have 40 head of cattle, a mix of native Whitebred shorthorns, Galloways, Blue Greys and Angus and just under 60 dairy heifers. In that space of time, she has grown her flock from an initial four to 500 ewes. At 19, I became a self-employed contract shepherdess.” Sheep and cattle farming I studied sheep management at Kirkley Hall College straight from school at 17. “I have been working with livestock since I can remember. “Furthermore, I have just been granted a 20-year lease on Ardroscodale Farm, a 680-acre enterprise on the Isle of Bute.” I was granted the tenancy of Fallowlees at age 23 with a suitcase and four collie dogs to my name.” “Dad is one of seven and the son of a tenant farmer. The 35-year-old was born and raised on a tenant farm in the Scottish Borders near Hawick but has since moved to a new holding. We also do extensive health testing to ensure the pups we breed are as healthy as they can be.” “I take great pride in marrying together the best bloodlines we can. We spend our time working the form, training sheep dogs for trial and farm work.” “To note, we start training at around 10 months of age and hope to have them fully trained at 18-24 months. We tend to keep around 20 at any one time and sell at various stages – depending on what bills we need to pay.” It takes years and years of study and passion or sometimes just good luck to breed a good one,” she told That’s Farming. “I got my first dog aged 13 and have never not been training a sheep dog since. She has sold working sheep dogs worldwide to the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Israel and even the Faroe Islands. She believes that “heart, honesty, bravery and power” are the lifeblood of a working collie. The well-known shepherdess strives to “breed top-quality working sheep dogs with an emphasis on working ability”. The following year, Meg changed hands for a record-breaking 18,000gns, becoming what was then the most expensive working sheep dog. She broke the world record for a black and white bitch, Brenna, in 2019 at Skipton when she sold for 14,000gns. The shepherdess discusses her move to the Isle of Brute and growing a flock from 4 to 500 ewes.Įmma Gray is one of the world’s best-known sheep dog breeders and trainers, with several world record prices to her name. In this week’s Women in Ag segment, That’s Farming, speaks to Emma Gray on making her name as a recording-breaking sheep dog trainer and breeder, sheep and cattle farmer and author of two books. ![]()
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