Monitoring Flock Performance Case Study (Central)
22 May 2025John & Alix Ritchie, Montalt Farm, Forgandenny, Perthshire
Keeping performance monitoring simple in a grass-based system
For the Ritchies at Montalt monitoring body condition of their flock is essential to maintaining flock performance on a grass-based system. The main aim of the system is to maintain body condition of the entire flock at body condition score of 3 or above to minimise the requirement of concentrate feed in the system meeting ewes’ nutritional requirements on grass and preserved forage throughout the year.
The Farm by Numbers:
- Farm Type: Upland Sheep and Beef
- Main Enterprise: 500 Breeding Ewes (Hybrid Logie Durno/Easy Care) and 100 Hill Suckler Cattle (Saler).
Montalt is situated near the village of Dunning in Perthshire, Central Scotland. It is an upland sheep and beef unit extending over 250ha rising between 850 - 1000ft above sea level. The main aim of the system is to keep everything as simple as possible, relying on predominantly forage for sheep and cattle all year round. The sheep flock are predominantly a hybrid cross using Logie Durno genetics with John introducing Easycare Genetics (UltiMate from Graham Lofthouse) this year to further try to reduce ease of working. John works a rotational grazing system with ewes started on the rotation pre-lambing in early March until lambing.
A few weeks after lambing ewes and lambs are then put back on to the rotation working a leader-follower system with cattle. Ewes are all wintered on grassland on high-quality grass silage. The only concentrate used in the system is a small amount to train ewes lambs, increasing system resilience and for the last of the finishing lambs in the back end when grass quality and availability drops below the requirement for finishing.
Tracking Body Condition
Body condition of the flock is checked 4 times throughout the year:
- Weaning
- Pre-Tupping
- Scanning
- 8 Weeks post lambing
The process of this is kept simple using a spray marker to identify the leanest ewes. this is particularly important around scanning where the leanest ewes are given grass as a priority with all others including Triplets, lean twins and gimmers, then put onto a pre-lambing rotation around the 5th of March for a 10th of April due date. Body condition is also a crucial tool in culling decisions with any lean ewes identified at weaning and then re-body conditioned pre-tupping if still lean at this point, they will not go back to tup with a key aim of keeping a ewe that best fits the system.
All ewes are lambed outdoors at Montalt with as little intervention as possible. To identify any ewes at lambing that did require intervention (assisted lambing, issues milking, prolapse or mastitis) the farm uses a simple system of a small cable tie around the ear tag of the ewe this allows the ewe to be flagged at weaning before ear notching for culling. To optimise lamb performance on the system all triplets have their 3rd lamb lifted and are artificially reared. the 2023/24 batch scanned at 197% weaning 176%.
Monitoring lamb performance
Lamb performance is also monitored closely, with all lambs EID tagged at marking and weighed at 8 weeks to assess performance through the farm's Auto Drafting Weigh Crate and stored using their TruTest XR5000 Weigh Head. This process allows for weight gain from birth to be determined, and the ability of the ewes to milk from grass is assessed. The Ritchies are aiming for an average gain of lambs or >400g/day from birth to 8 weeks and an average of >300g/day from birth to weaning.
Figure 1: 2024 born lamb performance
| 8 Weeks | Weaning (100 days) | |
|---|---|---|
| Liveweight (kg) | 24.9 | 33.5 |
| DLWG* (g/day) | 373 | 295 |
*Birthweight = 4kg
2024 born lambs were finished to an average carcass weight of 19.4kg grading as below:
Figure 2: 2024 Born Lambs Grades
| Grade | % of Lambs |
|---|---|
| U | 5% |
| R | 85% |
| O | 10% |
Fat Class predominantly 3L / 4.
Lambs are culled in batches of 70 with the first batch ready around July aiming for all lambs away by November.
To keep lambs shifting and ensure sufficient cover for finish the last couple of batches are fed concentrate once grass quality and quantity reduce, grazing availability and quality are consistently monitored in the system with the farm being a previous Grass Check GB Farm.
Keeping it simple is crucial.
Keeping flock performance monitoring simple is essential for the team at Montalt to enable them to maintain a high-performing flock, scanning around 200% during outdoor lambing while using very little purchased feed in the system.
Tips For Monitoring Your Own Flock Performance
- Keep it simple – identify which data will give you the biggest benefit to your flock.
- Set performance goals and stick to them.
- Determine easy methods of identification to make selection and decision-making simple.
Vlog Series
FAS has followed John from weaning 2024 through to lambing 2025 on a vlog series, watch his journey here - Monitoring Flock Performance Vlog Series | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service
Useful FAS Resources:
- https://www.fas.scot/downloads/tn702-body-condition-scoring-mature-sheep/
- https://www.fas.scot/livestock/sheep/lamb-performance/
- https://www.fas.scot/publication/new-entrants-getting-started-with-rotational-grazing/
Lorna Shaw, SAC Consulting
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