Saturday 20 August was a busy day on the farm this year and one Michael had been preparing for for several months. It was the day we hosted the Southern Irish Lleyn Breeders Club annual open day, an event packed with information on sheep with talks given from a variety of industry experts over a wide range of sheep-related topics. Although it was a blustery day with heavy rain showers, the weather was irrelevant as our sheep shed filled with enthusiastic, interested, open-minded farmers. One side of the shed was divided into pens holding batches of purebred Lleyns ewes, lambs and rams and many different varieties of crossbred Lleyns such as New Zealand Suffolk, Charollais, English Suffolk, Cheviot and Texel, all crossed with Lleyn.
Lleyn crosses
Many farmers gave careful scrutiny to the different crosses of Lleyn and the pedigree stock, weighing up the benefits of including the Lleyn either part-bred or pedigree in their flock. Particular attention was paid to our lovely old ram ‘‘Barney’’ as he carries the a special prolificacy gene, which will ensure that his daughters will only conceive twin lambs. I have a soft spot for Barney not because of the notoriety of his genetics but because he’s the only sheep here that eats out of your hand!
Speakers
The other side of the shed gave way to a speakers’ quarter, with ample seating for the audience and the sheep-handling unit in behind that. After some brief words of welcome, Michael handed the microphone to George McGarry from TGM Software Solutions. His talk explained the simplicity of the agricultural software and electronic tag reading and recording hardware. As we use the TGM software recording system for our pedigree Lleyn flock, George was able to give live demonstrations throughout the day using the new Agrident AWR300 Wand reader. Next up was another George, this time George Best from Shepherdsmate sheep-handling units giving an outline of his product. Indeed, we have purchased one through the TAMS scheme and find it an invaluable piece of equipment. Following George Best, it was a pleasure to listen to Champion sheep shearer George Graham who spoke of the importance of dagging, crutching lambs, winter shearing, farm safety and mental health awareness among farmers.
Success
The final two speakers were vets Joanne Cregg and Fiona Lovatt from MSD Animal Health, who travelled from the midlands and the UK, respectively. Both ladies gave interesting talks on sheep and flock health, the importance of controlling worm burdens and lameness within the flock and the roll that vaccines can play in eradicating foot-rot and abortion. Backed up by some extremely poignant statistics, advice on implementing health strategies, emphasising the importance of tightly managing the overall health of your flock, both speeches made for emphatic listening. There was a Q and A session with both vets taking questions from the floor on many different aspects of flock health. The day was wrapped up over teas and coffees, with Michael giving a little more detail on his flock and the important role Barney has played in it to date. Overall, it was a huge success for the Southern Irish Lleyn Breeders Club and one we hope to repeat in the future.
Read more
Read all of Hannah’s blogs from Waterfall Farm here
Saturday 20 August was a busy day on the farm this year and one Michael had been preparing for for several months. It was the day we hosted the Southern Irish Lleyn Breeders Club annual open day, an event packed with information on sheep with talks given from a variety of industry experts over a wide range of sheep-related topics. Although it was a blustery day with heavy rain showers, the weather was irrelevant as our sheep shed filled with enthusiastic, interested, open-minded farmers. One side of the shed was divided into pens holding batches of purebred Lleyns ewes, lambs and rams and many different varieties of crossbred Lleyns such as New Zealand Suffolk, Charollais, English Suffolk, Cheviot and Texel, all crossed with Lleyn.
Lleyn crosses
Many farmers gave careful scrutiny to the different crosses of Lleyn and the pedigree stock, weighing up the benefits of including the Lleyn either part-bred or pedigree in their flock. Particular attention was paid to our lovely old ram ‘‘Barney’’ as he carries the a special prolificacy gene, which will ensure that his daughters will only conceive twin lambs. I have a soft spot for Barney not because of the notoriety of his genetics but because he’s the only sheep here that eats out of your hand!
Speakers
The other side of the shed gave way to a speakers’ quarter, with ample seating for the audience and the sheep-handling unit in behind that. After some brief words of welcome, Michael handed the microphone to George McGarry from TGM Software Solutions. His talk explained the simplicity of the agricultural software and electronic tag reading and recording hardware. As we use the TGM software recording system for our pedigree Lleyn flock, George was able to give live demonstrations throughout the day using the new Agrident AWR300 Wand reader. Next up was another George, this time George Best from Shepherdsmate sheep-handling units giving an outline of his product. Indeed, we have purchased one through the TAMS scheme and find it an invaluable piece of equipment. Following George Best, it was a pleasure to listen to Champion sheep shearer George Graham who spoke of the importance of dagging, crutching lambs, winter shearing, farm safety and mental health awareness among farmers.
Success
The final two speakers were vets Joanne Cregg and Fiona Lovatt from MSD Animal Health, who travelled from the midlands and the UK, respectively. Both ladies gave interesting talks on sheep and flock health, the importance of controlling worm burdens and lameness within the flock and the roll that vaccines can play in eradicating foot-rot and abortion. Backed up by some extremely poignant statistics, advice on implementing health strategies, emphasising the importance of tightly managing the overall health of your flock, both speeches made for emphatic listening. There was a Q and A session with both vets taking questions from the floor on many different aspects of flock health. The day was wrapped up over teas and coffees, with Michael giving a little more detail on his flock and the important role Barney has played in it to date. Overall, it was a huge success for the Southern Irish Lleyn Breeders Club and one we hope to repeat in the future.
Read more
Read all of Hannah’s blogs from Waterfall Farm here
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