Middlesex Centre sheep producer Mels van der Laan continues to produce some of the top lambs in the country and once again took top prize in the New Crop class at the Royal Winter Fair. This was the second time in three years that he has won that honour.
     Mr. van der Laan, who along with his wife Ruth Ann owns Cold Stream Ranch northeast of Strathroy, is a top breeder of Dutch Texel sheep.
     While Texels were relatively rare in this country five years ago when Mr. van der Laan began breeding them, they have quickly gained favour for their feed efficiency and the leanness of their carcasses.
     The 41-pound lamb that won Mr. van der Laan the championship sold for $30 a pound.
     Mr. van der Laan also earned 6th and 9th place honours in the carcass class, out of a field of 50 entries. The 6th-place winner was a pure Dutch Texel lamb. It weighed 92 pounds alive, and 55 pounds processed for a 60.8 percent dress out weight.
     The 9th-place winner was a three-quarter Texel/Dorset cross. Its live weight was 103 pounds and also produced a dress-out weight of 55 pounds.
     "It was interesting to see that the cross-Texel needed 11 more pounds to produce the same amount of meat as a purebred Texel," said Mr. van der Laan.
     Texels require on average only about two-thirds as much feed to produce the same amount of meat as other breeds, said Mr. van der Laan. Typically, Texels produce a dress-out weight of about 56 percent.
     "I would say that the Texel is the most efficient sheep there is," he said. "We get more for what we put into them,"
     Word of the Texel's efficiency is really beginning to spread, said Mr. van der Laan. While the breed is extremely popular in other parts of the world, it was scarce in Canada until a just few years ago. Now, probably close to 90 percent of sheep producers in this country have at least some Texel blood in their flocks, Mr. van der Laan estimated.
     Buyers are now very aware of the higher quality of Texel carcasses, said Mr. van der Laan. Sheep with Texel blood consistently bring better prices at auction, he added.
     Mr. van der Laan said he has no trouble at all selling the pure Texel breeding stock he produces. "I can't raise enough of them."
     The decision five years ago to get into Texels now looks like a pretty good one. "Obviously we went the right way with our Texels," said Mr. van der Laan. "Although it cost a bit to get into it, in the end it's paying off."
     "Although they thought we were crazy five years ago, there are more and more people coming on board," he said.
     In addition to raising Texels, Mr. van der Laan is working to help promote the breed nationally.
     He recently returned from the Agribition in Regina, where the Canadian Texel Association held its first official meeting. Fifteen breeders from across the country met to make plans to promote the breed more aggressively.
     "We want to get to as many shows as we can to promote the Texel," said Mr. van der Laan. He is the association's representative for central Canada.
     He is hoping that other producers will see the value of adding Texel blood to their flocks.
     While they do cost a few hundred dollars more to purchase, Texel rams are an excellent investment and they quickly pay for themselves.
     "The ram is half your flock," he said.
     The van der Laans are convinced they are on the right path with the Texels and are continuing to move forward to try to improve the quality of their flock. They recently imported semen from two top rams in the Netherlands.
     For more information about Texels or the van der Laans' operation, visit their website at www.dutchtexel.on.ca.