Last updated 21:53, Tuesday, 18 November 2008

Tupping is well under way on the hill farms of Cumbria as the rams mingle with the ewes in the fields to help procreate livestock. Yet the red letter season is marred with uncertainty this year.

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Precision timing: Thomas Postlethwaite of Spout House Farm, Eskdale, with his Herdwick rams before the annual tup

Timed with the precision of a military campaign so that quality lambs arrive with the spring grass to nourish the mother and help produce her milk, the age-old system is in danger as never before.

“The year’s breeding season means everything in hill farming,” says Thomas Postlethwaite, 26, of Spout House Farm, Eskdale. “It’s Mother Nature’s cycle which starts on our farm in late November and ends on December 20.

“It comes to fruition as the lambs arrive in late April.

“But there are times these days when I think ‘Why bother?’ A lot of other hill farmers are feeling the same way.

“We are now at the start of producing lambs for next year, yet flocks are being depleted on the fells and fewer young people are coming into farming. Even gathering the sheep on the high fells is becoming a dying art.

“After all the hard work, lambs are selling at just £10. Is it any wonder farmers are selling up and if things don’t change, fell farms will be left standing empty.”

Being of hardy Lakeland stock, Thomas, who farms 800 Herdwicks on the upland from behind the Outward Bound school to the top of Scafell with his wife Clare, dad Michael and mum Di, is hopeful things will improve.

He is changing his methods of pairing the ewes and rams from the age-old system used by his grandfather and father.

“This year we are using a lot more Cheviot tups on our ewes,” he says. “This will produce a quality lamb that sells better on the market. We have always been careful about selecting which ram goes with which ewe, like a light coloured ewe will go with a darker tup to produce the slate-blue tone of a good Herdwick.

“If you have a great big tup then you put it with a smaller ewe to help increase the size.

“This year, we’ll cross the Cheviot tup with the lesser quality Herdwicks. This will hopefully give the hybrid vigour that produces the best qualities of both breeds.”

He used to raddle the brisket of his tups between the forelegs so they left their marks on the backs of the ewes they had served. Now he finds there is no need to use this once-standard procedure.

It produced such spectacular effects, a visitor once asked a taxi driver why the sheep in the fields were the colours of the rainbow. “Autumn tints,” he replied.

“Twelve years ago,” says Thomas, “we kept 1,600 ewes and this system helped. Then we used to fetch the ewes in once a week during tup-time. Those which were marked with the colour of that week’s raddle we would turn back to the fell.

“Now we have half as many ewes. Instead we just turn all the ewes out for the full term with all the tups among them.

“The 35 days during tup-time covers two reproductive cycles. So there is every chance they will become pregnant during that time and duly produce lambs in April.”

He dismisses other traditional methods, though some farmers still use them.

Like that of returning a ram, known as a jack-tup, on the fells with the ewes. Any female that had so far missed becoming impregnated would then have a further chance.

“Jack-tups were more trouble than they were worth,” he says. “We don’t use them any more.”

Neither do Thomas and Clare use clout twinters, the practice of stitching a ‘chastity belt’ of strong cloth across the rear of an 18-month old lamb .

This deterred the efforts of any male on the fell.

Like many of the old methods, Thomas finds this practice unnecessary because of the way he farms his flock.