And you think i havent?Of course not --- i just speak from experience of running these systems in arable/lowland/high human traffic areas
It's easy enough to do
Don't worry about it ---you run your system & others will do it differently, it's fine
Sheep numbers can quickly be bred up like they
were before foot and mouth and then watch
supply and demand dictate prices.
Cereal prices will drop like a stone come harvest
The luxury of a stable base would be great but it's not the reality for many so i look at the loss/gain of land as an opportunity to expand /reduce numbers ----no other way of doing it at the momentI’d have no qualms about running sheep on arable breaks, and behind electric fencing. However, I would want a base to work from, either owned or with some security of tenure, otherwise one wet winter, or a landlord changing his mind, could lead you into a position where your grazing disappears overnight.
Haven’t you been in a similar position, where you’ve had to reduce ewe numbers at short notice because of someone else’s decisions? That’s got to be hard enough with a flying flock of mules, but must be heartbreaking if it’s a flock that you’ve been spending time & money improving.
I know when we use to take lots of grass keep round home, we regularly used to lose blocks at short notice, usually to a friend of the landlord’s agent, who would take it & trash it for a year, before they came back and offered it to us again.I was certainly glad of the stability offered by getting off that hamster wheel.
No idea---we obviously have different experiences /methods of running the system
So will lamb prices
Because this is a blip caused by wet 2019 autumn
Whole communities in some places have been based on livestock farming for hundreds of years. Expecting them all move to an arable area to set up electric fences and play second fiddle to arable farmers is not realistic. And just to say someone will replace them seems a bit foolish, how much is passed down from the older generation?Agree industry needs people to run/work it
But if you think we are the only people who can do that you are wrong
For every shepherd who can't/wont adapt/move there will be others that will rise to the challenge, it's always been that way
Graziers on arable rotations are likely to be share farmers/contract graziers rather than land owners
You don't need to own land to farm ----in fact buying land and expecting to earn a living from farming and a return on investment is probably a poor expectation to have ?
All of which is a long way from brexit and lamb prices
I'm not arguing that lowland or arable ground is not for sheep. But to think we can replace all hill bred lamb by farming sheep on arable land is backward. As you said you finish Welsh lambs, bred on a hill.
Of course not --- i just speak from experience of running these systems in arable/lowland/high human traffic areas
It's easy enough to do
Don't worry about it ---you run your system & others will do it differently, it's fine
This is the human part of the equation & of course the most difficult to square
All of the above is true, and I have a deal where I finish or grow hill lambs on in return for gimmer lambs which works well. My issue is, on arable rotations you will not have enough keep through spring,early summer to breed these lambs to replace the hill lambs that are lost. Otherwise why aren't you breeding everything yourself now and making more money? I have no issue with other people finishing their lambs etc, quite the opposite. It also puts the whole sheep industry at the mercy of the arable industry which could be a potential disaster. If more and more pesticides etc are being banned more acres are going to be needed for arable in lowland situations to make enough produce.
I'm not a hill or upland farmer myself, but I like the idea of sending to finishers (myself being one) bit try to imply the uplands hills are no longer the place for sheep is not the answer as it will present shortfalls I'm the industry.
Thats in no way what im implying , they will always be the nurseries and summer of the uk flock, just a new way of doing things to protect and enhance the environment, we practically do it now , just need a bit more incentive needed for the arable boys to follow suit , and in my experience its the agronomist that is the stumbling block , whether thats to do with kick back of agri chems or more work (or variables ) if sheep graze in winter i dont know .But thats usually the reason used not to graze
