Livestock

A dairy farmer has said it ‘beggars belief’ that the media have launched a campaign to save a single bTB-positive alpaca while ignoring the 160,000 cattle which have been destroyed during the 4-year fight to keep him alive.

THE beef inter-breed championship at Garstang Show, which was judged by a panel comprising the breed judges of each section in the show and a member of the public, ended in a tie.

For many farmers, the cost and availability of straw has focused the mind on other options for bedding sheep, with slats often high on the list.

The role of Blackface sheep has been well refined at Calla Farm in the years since the family moved here in 1969. Ewan Pate finds out more about how they fit into the business mix.

THE early NSA Wales and Border ram sale held at Builth Wells saw 211 rams sold with a clearance rate of 73.5 per cent.

Lamb prices may have ’slipped away’ across UK marts in recent weeks, but industry has voiced cautious optimism that trade will stay buoyant in the coming months.

THE early NSA Wales and Border ram sale held at Builth Wells saw 211 rams sold with a clearance rate of 73.5 per cent.

Historically, most farmers use more rams than they need, according to veterinary surgeon Will Barker, of Castle Farm Vets, Barnard Castle.

SCOPS, with the backing and support of the Moredun Research Institute, the National Sheep Association and the Sheep Veterinary Society, has issued a letter to the sheep sector with renewed advice to farmers to include the newer group 4 and 5 wormers in their worm control plans now.

Farmers have reacted angrily to a threat from Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths to ‘close’ chicken sheds in order to tackle water pollution.