Lleyn Sheep Society the official website

Tidy up Your Flock Records Online

Take Part in the January Survey

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Go into your online Flock Book & Registry Account as normal, then click survey.

(If you have lost or forgotten your password please send an email [Here]

You can note all the animals on your records as ALIVE, SOLD or DEAD.

Please note this will only be available from 5th January to 2nd February.

Dr Dai Morris features on Welsh TV

after winning the John Gittins Memorial Award

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S4C TV (Freesat 120 or Sky 134) ran a feature on Dai on Monday 5th January as part of the Ffermio programme. Click [Here] to view the film on BBC iPlayer

The John Gittins Memorial Trophy was awarded to Dr Dai Morris for his services to the Welsh sheep industry by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society. Dr Morris was presented at the Welsh Winter Fair. Congratulations from the Lleyn Sheep Society. Click [Here] to read full details

Lleyn in Southern Ireland

When Seamus was asked why he thought the Lleyn worked so well for him, he answered "They lamb easily , they produce more lambs than the other hill breeds, they are very docile and placid. They are very good on their feet and seem to be very resistant to worms. In other words they do exactly as it say on the tin!!" [More]

Three pronged solution to maximising output from reduced inputs

Pure Lleyns + Hampshire Down cross lambs + forage management

“Since we decided to swap our crossbred ewes for a closed flock of pure Lleyns in the late 1990s we’ve been able to virtually double stocking rate to six ewes per acre and flushing is no longer required. The number of pure Lleyn lambs reared from ewes put to the ram has increased by 20% to 185% in 2013, and just 3.5% of the flock scanned barren,” Matt explains. “We’ve a new income stream selling pure performance recorded shearling Lleyn ewes to commercial producers, whilst our Hampshire Down cross lambs are finishing off grazed grass at an average 20 weeks to 19kg target weight and grading within the U, R specification.” [More]

Lleyn at its best in a Commercial System

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For me the Lleyn ewe is the most efficient and economical sheep I have ever come across, she is prolific and produces the right sort of lamb for today's market and that will do for me. [More]

UK SHEEP ID REMINDERS

NSA urges members to remember that new rules for sheep identification come in on Thursday 1^st January 2015. The change that affects sheep keepers in all parts of the UK is that ewes from the historic flock (those tagged before 2010) will need to be individually listed on a movement record from 1^st January unless they are moving directly to an abattoir or via a red market. This is not a requirement to retag older ewes and rams with full EID, but many producers may make that decision if it makes it easier for them to move older animals either between farms or via markets. But please note some auction markets (including all markets in Scotland) are asking for animals in the historic flock to carry full EID as a condition of sale. If you are not planning to EID tag older animals anyway, please check with your auctioneer what they require for their sales

Also from 1^st January 2015, sheep keepers in England are no longer permitted to use non-EID tags for lambs and must use a single EID slaughter tag in lambs not being retained for breeding. Lambs born before 1^st January are still permitted to carry a non-EID tag and there is no requirement to retag these animals. Use of the non-EID slaughter tag is still permitted in Wales until January 1^st 2016, but NSA urges sheep keepers in Wales to be very careful about the tagging decisions they make in 2015. Phil Stocker, NSA Chief Executive, says: “It is has always been important to use the non-EID slaughter tag in prime lambs only and not in store lambs, but this will be even more important for Welsh farmers in 2015, as they will be the only nation still using the non-EID slaughter tag and will reduce their selling options if they use plastic tags in lambs that may be bought for further finishing.”

Happy New Year from the

Lleyn Sheep Society

Members - have you booked your Breeders Advert in the 2015 Handbook? Download the form [Here] and send it in now to book your place.

EID INFORMATION SITE GOES LIVE

A website offering sheep farmers information and advice on EID technology is now up and running. The site is part of a £1million scheme run by Hybu Cig Cymru/Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) aimed at encouraging farmers to make use of EID. The project is also offering funding to sheep farmers willing to complete a series of questionnaires on their experiences of flock recording. The first 1,500 participants will receive £500 to spend on recording equipment and farm management software. Visit the new site, and find out more about the scheme, here