JOE and Rachel Henry's Raburn Hampshire Down flock has officially recorded the greatest genetic gain for commercial characteristics in the UK in the last 12 months.

The couple farm 160 severely disadvantaged acres at Thropton in Northumberland, and received the award from the AHDB Beef and Lamb Better Returns Programme (BRP).

Low input, high output is key to the couple’s pedigree sheep breeding strategy.

Mr Henry said: "Hampshire Down rams leave small, hardy lambs which grow like mushrooms off milk and grass without concentrate, and they are capable of producing quality meat, with one of the biggest eye muscles of all sheep."

Both pedigree and commercial flocks lamb at 400 feet from mid-April, consequently mothering ability and lamb vigour has to be good. None of the ewes receive any supplementary feed from ten days prior to lambing and no creep is fed to the lambs.

They are left to grow off milk and grass, with the pure-breds recording up to 525g per day at eight weeks, while 25 per cent of the commercial crop is reaching 19kg target finishing weight by 16 weeks.

Their interest in the breed goes back over a decade. "We’d noted that the Hampshire Down, being a native breed, was designed to cope with our northern climate," said Mr Henry, who works for a mixed animal veterinary practice, while his wife manages the farm’s daily running.

The Henrys purchased foundation ewes to establish their Raburn flock in 2003. Since then, their ram selection has featured a combined blend of New Zealand Hampshire Down genetics – noted for their length – with British genetics selected for Estimated Breeding Values within the breed’s top ten per cent for growth and muscling and ease of lambing.

Mr Henry said: "We are thrilled to win the award, and we plan to continue our selection process, breeding more efficient sheep."

The couple have 35 pedigree Hampshire Down ewes, 170 commercial ewes – Romney, Romney cross Lleyn and Lleyn – and a 30 cow Luing suckler herd.