A breed of fluffy and quiet sheep dubbed the “cutest in the world” could earn UK farmers millions of pounds in the coming years.

Embryos from the adorable animals are in demand in a handful of countries, including the US, where they aren’t native.

The embryos, frozen in liquid nitrogen while they are shipped abroad, are implanted into the customers’ sheep which will then give birth to one of the adorable animals.

Rather than being sold for meat, Valais Black Nose sheep embryos are sold purely because people adore their quiet and “inquisitive” temperament, says Bruce Goldie, a farmer from Dumbfrieshire who has a flock of 30 Valais Black Nose sheep.

Mr Goldie says the sheep behave “more like dogs than sheep”.

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The Scottish farmer was recently part of the first-ever shipment of British sheep embryos to the US.

“They got there safely. They’re the first exportation of sheep embryos into the USA. They went to a sheep bidding company in Maine,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today.

He added: “They’re the cutest sheep in the world. There’s always a great interest in them at local and national shows and any time that they’re out and about in public, the public just loves them.

“So the Americans have seen photographs of them and so they’re very keen to get the genetics.”

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The shipment, worth a total of around £400,000 for British farmers, marks the end of the US government’s 33-year embargo on lamb and ovine embryos and the start of embryo trade between the UK and the US.

At the moment the trade of UK sheep breeds is said to have a low value of less than half a million pounds.

However, experts think that this will change in the future as more exports take place.

Phil Stocker of the National Sheep Association predicted: “It could definitely run into a number of millions per year, there’s no doubt about that.

“There’s real interest and demand from sheep farmers in the US for British sheep genetics.”

“They’re looking for new genetic material to reinvigorate some of their breeds and give them a wider range of genetic material to choose from.”

Britain is well known for having “premier sheep genetics” and there is a huge demand for both British and heritage sheep, such as the Valais Black Nose, the Black Welsh Mountain and Kerry Hill sheep, says Mr Stocker.

He added: “Britain is known as the stockyard of the world. There’s no doubt about that. We’ve got, by far, the most diverse and well-established range of sheep breeds in the world, there’s no doubt about that.”

The export this week followed a collaboration between the UK Government, the sheep meat industry, the UK Export Certificate Partnership and the AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board).

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