Ram shopping in France

There was a time when a trip to France meant visits to vineyards and a long lunch at an Auberge before returning home with the boot laden with wine. However now with my son, Matthew, passionate about improving his Southdown flock, a French visit is for sheep shopping!

Our first purchase of a French ram three years ago was conducted via email using photos and performance records. This time, however, Matthew was determined to get ‘hands-on’ in choosing his next stock ram, so off we set in midDecember on a 3-day trip. An Easyjet flight to Lyon and the hire of a car was very straightforward. Our destination - Benoit Poillot’s farm - was conveniently situated only 45 minutes west of the Burgundy wine region. An enjoyable night in Beaune was a great stopover prior to arriving ‘chez’ the Poillot family for a delicious lunch.

Benoit runs a flock of 55 breeding ewes and had a good selection of twelve ram lambs from which to choose. We were able to view the breeding flock as well as assess both the sire and dam of our shortlisted rams. Decision made and an amiable dinner as well as an overnight stay with the Poillot family was very much appreciated and enjoyed. Following Brexit the paperwork required for the importation of sheep from the EU has changed a little, but is still relatively straightforward. Benoit arranged all the vaccinations and veterinary checks in France whilst I had the most challenging aspect of importing a ram, arranging transport. Hopefully the effort will be worthwhile and we can look forward to some exceptional progeny in 2024.

Gordon Sparke