The Irish Texel Sheep Society, in association with the Irish Farmers Journal, is delighted to launch the second annual online competition aimed at young sheep farmers.

The competition will be broken up into two age categories – 16 and under, and 17 to 23 years (depending on number of entries).

The prizes for each group are vouchers to spend at the Irish Texel premier sale (vouchers are non-transferable and have to be redeemed in person).

The sale takes place on 9 and 10 August in Blessington, Co Wicklow, where there will be more than 300 sheep to choose from. First prize gets a €300 voucher, with €200 for second and €100 for third.

The overall winner of the competition will also win a double five-star pedigree Texel ewe on 8 June at the National Sheep Breeders Association championships in Cillin Hill Mart, Kilkenny.

To enter the competition, entrants, who must be under the age of 23, just have to upload a short video to Facebook saying why they enjoy sheep farming and why they should win a pedigree Texel ewe.

When uploading, please tag the Irish Texel Sheep Society and the Irish Farmers Journal.

Twenty per cent of the overall marks will be for the amount of likes each video gets, while the remaining 80% will be for the content. The top few will then be asked to attend the final held on 8 June, where successful candidates will undergo a short interview.

Following the announcement of the winners, each section winner will be featured in the Irish Farmers Journal.

Check out the Irish Farmers Journal and Irish Texel Sheep Society Facebook pages for more information.

Please note all previous first-prizewinners of the competition are excluded from entry for 2019.