The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Pedigree judge’ s proud day
Turriff-based pedigree sheep breeder Robbie Wilson realised a lifetime ambition when he won the Texel sheep championship at the 2017 Royal Highland Show – and now, five years later, he’ll be back at Ingliston to judge the Texel section.
“I always wanted to win the Texels at the Highland and it’s been the highlight of my career so far to achieve that. There’s always a huge entry and the competition is so tough,” said Mr Wilson, who farms at North Dorlaithers, Turriff.
He runs 30 pedigree Texel ewes in his Milnbank flock, with 400 cross ewes. However, an extensive embryo transfer programme results in around 330 pure Texel lambs being born each year. These are mainly sold as gimmers and ram lambs, with 120 of each sold annually, both at markets and privately.
Marketing plays a big role in the demand for pedigree sheep and Mr Wilson says shows are essential as a shop window for livestock. This was proved in 2017, when his homebred gimmer went on to sell privately for £20,000, following her win at the Highland Show.
“Shows are essential in agriculture for so many reasons – social and business. They provide a great opportunity to advertise your stock and compare them to others in the breed, as a benchmark. The Royal Highland is a massive event in the agricultural calendar and it’s great that it’s back on as normal this year,” he said.
At last year’s event – which due to the pandemic, had reduced livestock numbers and no spectators – Mr Wilson secured the champion ticket in the Texels with a granddaughter of his 2017 winner. Outwith the Texel breed, he’s also won the Suffolk section five times at Ingliston and triumphed in the commercial cattle too.
This year will be a different experience, as he steps into the ring as a judge instead of an exhibitor, but one that he will relish all the same.
“It’s been a long wait; I was originally meant to judge the show in 2020, so I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.
“I’ve judged at the Royal Welsh and Balmoral, but this will be a first judging stint at the Highland and I’m expecting the quality to be very high.”
“It’s the number one show of Texels in the UK and it’s an honour to be asked to judge such an esteemed event,” he added.