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LIVESTOCK MATTERS
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
F LOCK HEALTH
Veterinary Surgeon
Andrew Sawyer
XLVets Practice
Alnorthumbria
Veterinary Group
FW SHEEP FARMER FINALIST
DUNCAN NELLESS
AND ALNORTHUMBRIA'S VET
ANDREW SAWYER
A good system for sheep
EID and flock health planning
Northumberland sheep farmer Duncan Nelless of Thistleyhaugh
Farm near Morpeth was one of the finalists in the 2012 Farmers
Weekly Awards.
His vet, Andrew Sawyer of Alnorthumbria Vet
Practice, has been providing veterinary care
and advice to Duncan for the past 20 years.
During this time, there have been some major
changes - a completely different breed of
sheep, the introduction of electronic tagging
and performance recording, and ongoing
disease prevention and health planning. All
have helped ensure the genetic potential of
the flock is realised.
At Thistleyhaugh Farm, Duncan manages
1,600 pedigree Lleyns. In 2004, following
the advice of Andrew Sawyer, he made the
decision to convert to organic status. Duncan
explains: ‘We didn't have to make too many
changes. The biggest was to reduce the use of
concentrates, which on our traditional system
were 20% of the variable costs. With attention
to grassland management, we are now
rearing lambs only off grass, and the organic
status delivers a worthwhile premium.’
EID benefits
Duncan had begun EID-tagging his breeding
flock in 2007 and, together with
computer-based performance records, he has
been able to select for improvement across
a number of different parameters.
Ewes are split into two flocks - the main
pedigree flock numbers 1,160 Lleyn ewes.
These are put to carefully selected Lleyn rams
and lambed outdoors in April. Ewes which
do not meet the quality criteria for this flock
are run as a separate commercial flock.
Linking the EID with the performance
programme has been very beneficial for
Duncan. He explains: ‘It's a lot of work but
it really pays off in the end. Every lamb is
EID-recorded at birth, so we track not only
the history of each animal, but also what
medicines and vaccines it has received
through its life.
Ear Tag
(Left) Andrew Sawyer, (Right) Duncan Nelless