Sheep

Farmers Matt and Pip Smith are tough. Farming 850 feet above sea level on the edge of Bodmin Moor near Launceston in Cornwall, the 2017 Sheep Farmer of the Year is used to high rainfall and challenging conditions buffeting the 480-acre site with grazing rights, where the couple farm 1,000 Romney ewes and some 700 venison at any one time – including 238 breeding hinds.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents 30,000 rural businesses in England and Wales, has today issued a stark warning to the government on the impact that no-deal would have on Britain’s competitiveness in EU agricultural markets.

Ceva Animal Health has launched an interactive map to demonstrate the threat of Enzootic Abortion of Ewes (EAE).

Scottish sheep farmers are being asked to take part in a survey to establish antibiotic usage in the industry.

This year has highlighted that there is no typical year for fluke. With a very dry spring in some regions followed by a wet summer, the timing of peak fluke risk this year could be different from normal and different across the country. Reports of cases of fluke have started to come in from some regions, however these are variable, highlighting the unpredictability of fluke this year.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has today welcomed the news that the Welsh Government has announced its commitment to consider using more British wool as a natural insulation product in Wales’ public buildings.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has hit back at claims from new research that suggest traditional farming methods should be halted, with trees planted where sheep now graze.

Sheep farmers are being encouraged to conduct faecal egg count (FEC) tests in their ewes and rams prior to tupping to identify and manage any worm burdens that could impact fertility & conception rates.

A £5 million research project involving nine countries – from Scandinavia to the Middle East – is aiming to revolutionise the use of precision technology in sheep and goat farming.

The Valais Blacknose Sheep Society took its annual Blacknose Beauties Show and Sale online for the first time in its history.

The increasingly popular Love Lamb Week kicks off its sixth year next month, with industry support greater than ever.

Roundworms, liver fluke and lungworm are costing UK livestock producers £270 million in lost production and treatment expenditure every year, according to a new study to be published in the journal Preventive Veterinary Medicine. The study examined the economic burden of major parasitic worm infections on livestock across 18 European countries.