k. Maternal
(Previously known as Kelso Maternal)
This breed has been rebranded for the 2023-4 season, to reduce brand confusion.
These sheep were bred from a Romney / Coopworth base, with the addition of Finn to bring tremendous fertility, East Fresian for milking ability, and Texel for carcass traits. Over the last 25 years or so they have essentially become a breed in their own right. With fertility already at very high levels, in recent years selection has been based around maximizing lamb growth and finishing ability, which has resulted in thicker, meatier sheep not unlike our other crossbreds.
The ewes we run scan exceptionally well even in tough years, and the lamb growth is impressive. They still have very good clean shoulders and the rams are particularly suitable for hogget mating - in fact we use them to mate our own commercial hoggets.