LOCAL sheep breeders bowed out with a bang after almost 40 years of showing their stock at Omagh Show on Saturday.
Renowned breeders William Tait and his wife Stephanie have decided to call it a day after four decades breeding Suffolk sheep.
In November the entire Burnview flock of some 120 pedigree ewes and a number of crossbred ewes carrying embryos are set to go under the hammer at Ballymena mart.
Burnview is one of the top flocks in Ireland, the UK and Europe and the Omagh breeders have bred some outstanding rams and female breeding stock that has sold to a high of 32, 000 guineas in Edinburgh.
The Taits marked their final appearance at Omagh with a plethora of prizes and rosettes before again securing the champion Suffolk title.
While delighted with another successful show, William admitted the day was tinged with a sense of sadness.
“Definitely I have been showing at Omagh for a long time and it’s been good to me,” he said.
“We would have won the Suffolk championship eight or 10 times.
“But the time has come to call it a day. Running a pedigree flock is physically challenging and with other commitments it’s getting too demanding. I suppose the bottom line is too many birthdays.
“Breeding Suffolk sheep has been a massive part of our lives and while it’s been hard work it’s also been extremely rewarding. We have met so many people over the years and many of them have become good friends.”
The Burnview flock has been to the fore front of Suffolk breeding since the early eighties and the Taits have developed some of the most sought after bloodlines.
Burnview was the first flock from Northern Ireland to win the UK National Flock competition, that after twice winning the Northern Area Flock competition which includes breeders from Scotland.
Over the years Burnview rams have regularly sold for five figures sums, both at home and abroad, and come November breeders from the Republic of Ireland, UK and Europe will congregate at Ballymena hoping to secure some of the best family lines the breed has to offer.
“Over the years we always tried to invest in stock that we felt was needed to keep improving and pushing the flock forward.” added William.
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