Latest news with #sheepfarming
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Country diary: A week of relief for all on the farm
After five weeks without rain, it was wonderful to be woken one night last week by the sound of rain being blown on to the bedroom windows. We are well prepared for dry spells like the one this year. In 2022 we sank a borehole on the farm, after successive springs when the water supply dried up, so thankfully we now have water for the house and farm buildings even when there is little rain. The fields rely on natural water, though, and this year the becks ran dry during lambing time. Every morning, I filled the back of the Gator with buckets of water and drove them round the lambing fields. The sheep had to adapt their routine too, as usually they get most of the moisture they need from damp grass. Water is, of course, essential for them to make milk for the lambs, but yows also prefer to lamb during wet weather, often seeming to hold off for a wet morning to lamb. This is believed to be because they know there will be fewer predators around, particularly birds of prey, of which we have many. So lambing was prolonged this year as well as hot. On a wet morning, it was a relief to see that the last yow had lambed, and was happily cleaning her new lamb and murmuring to her. Once it is settled and knows her mother, we will clear the meadows, ready to grow hay (which should be ready to cut in July). Lambs will be marked with our red smit mark before walking two and a half miles over several days down to Low Park Farm, where they will spend the summer rotationally grazing small fields surrounded by woodland strips. Away from weather concerns, a massive relief to me was that a visitor attraction, Into the Wilds, that was proposed for the farm next to ours, was refused planning permission by the Yorkshire Dales national park authority. The plans initially included safari lodges, a ranger base and a variety of exotic animals including white rhinos, giraffes, zebras and lynxes. One of the reasons given was that it would cause 'significant visual harm to the iconic landscape'. I just hope they don't put in an appeal. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
CBC
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Nova Scotia sheep farmer recalls meeting Charles before he was King
Gillian Crawford, a sheep farmer in River John, N.S., recounts meeting Canada's current monarch during his 2014 visit, when he was still the Prince of Wales. She presented her sheep to Charles to commemorate the launch of the Canadian branch of Campaign for Wool, a group that advocates for the revival of the wool industry.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
What it's like to be a sheep farmer in Greenland
Norse ruins shiver in the shadow of the ice sheet in Greenland's deep south. There, Ellen K. Frederiksen tends the nation's oldest working sheep farm, Illunnguujuk. This overlooks a turquoise fjord that explorer Erik the Red — founder of Greenland's first European settlement — once called home. Ellen upholds a hardy tradition that's both ancient and unexpectedly modern, fending off wild predators, climate change and rising costs while honouring local knowledge and natural rhythms. Her farm, which features an onsite B&B, is in Kujataa: a UNESCO World Heritage Site noted as the first known place of agriculture in the Arctic. We spoke to Ellen about life in this remote part of the world. I moved from the capital Nuuk, to be a schoolteacher, when I was 24. That was in the early 1980s. But I married a farmer, Carl. There's a lot of work being a farmer's wife: helping with lambing and other jobs, on top of being a teacher. But when you're in love, anything is possible. Yes, a good life — but also a hard life. Even though I'm now retired from teaching, we still work all the time. We don't have vacations like other people. We take care of the animals from November until the middle of June. Then we work on the fields and grow grass in summer so the sheep have something to eat. Autumn is exciting, seeing how many lambs have managed to grow. Spring, specifically May, is hectic: we work 24 hours a day at the stable when all the lambs are born. It's always a privilege to finish lambing season, and to know we have a good average of lamb per mother. We can give ourselves a pat on the back. But summer is best, when the fields are green and warm. On our farm we don't have mosquitos, unlike other places. Some say it is because of our sheep. Erik the Red – who was in exile after doing very bad things in Iceland – brought sheep and other livestock when he came here in the year 985. He gave Greenland its name, partly as a way of attracting other people to settle. His descendants stayed for about five centuries, until the Norse disappeared suddenly, around the year 1500. There are many theories. Perhaps it was disease. I think the most likely answer is the climate changed. Whatever happened, that was the end of sheep farming. My own ancestors, who came centuries ago from either modern-day Mongolia or Siberia, made a living through hunting and fishing whatever they could get from nature — a lot of seals. About a hundred years ago, seals became rare, so the government had to think of other ways to make a living. There was a pilot project: importing about a dozen sheep from the Faroe Islands, to see if they could live in the climate. They survived. My husband's grandfather, Otto Frederiksen, was a carpenter on that project, and was inspired to start his own farm in 1924, which we still run today. There was not much machinery, even when I arrived. Ewes would lamb up in the hills. Since the 1990s, we must do it in the barn: a regulation introduced after a very hard winter when many sheep died. Today we follow a strict programme to control which sheep mate. [This is] to avoid interbreeding and to maintain good quality meat. It's a lot of work — more data than you might think! Yes, it is beautiful. And we are lucky, farming on the edge of the ice. We have eagles in the area. But between the eagles, the ravens and the foxes, we lose maybe 2 to 3% of our lambs every year. The eagles are not our friends. Once, we sold our wool overseas, but that became uneconomical. For about ten years, we simply burned it. Local ladies made yarn and learned to felt and spin, but not on a commercial scale. Then I decided — because we also run a bed and breakfast — to create an opportunity for tourists to do wool work. With the help of equipment supplied by National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, I set up workshops for visitors to spin and felt. We dye wool using local herbs and plants. Starting this summer, we'll make nice sweaters, socks, mittens and bags. Climate change makes the weather unpredictable: high winds, intense snowfall, periods of drought. The war in Ukraine makes the price of fertiliser, and equipment, very high. But we have to be optimistic. My son will take over the farm when my husband retires, and he will be the fourth generation. Greenland people are used to living with whatever our landscape can provide. Self-sufficiency, creativity and resource management — these are all in our nature. For wool: Iiju Yarn & Craft Shop, QaqortoqVisitors to this shop in Qaqortoq can peruse yarns and handcrafted items made from local sheep's wool, and purchase authentic Greenlandic textiles. For lunch: Cafe Thorhildur, QassiarsukLocated on the town harbour, this cosy, farmer-owned cafe is a community hub that serves local lamb and beers. Ideal for experiencing authentic Greenlandic flavours. For the farm experience: Sheep farm stays in IgalikuKnown for ravishing scenery and Norse ruins, Igaliku offers opportunities to learn about sheep farming, join in daily activities and relish the tranquillity. This paid content article was created for Visit South Greenland. It does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic, National Geographic Traveller (UK) or their editorial subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
SBS Australia
24-05-2025
- Climate
- SBS Australia
Seen this warning on your phone as temperatures drop? Here's what it means
Sheep grazier warnings will likely increase as the weather becomes colder and wetter, especially for people living in Australia's southern regions. Source: SBS News As winter approaches, a severe weather alert specifically targeted at sheep farmers becomes more common in many parts of Australia. Usually issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), these warnings may not mean much to many, but for those in the sheep-rearing business, they can be the difference between profit and loss in a year. Farmer Keith McGrath is one of the many in Australia who will be taking these warnings seriously. He's been raising sheep in the Yass Valley region of NSW since 1977 and now runs his own business, Billa Burra Burra, which is spread over 115 paddocks. Here in the Southern Tablelands, livestock farmers compete with particularly cold and wet weather. He told SBS News that the colder winter months require careful planning for sheep welfare. 'Sheep grazier warnings', as the name suggests, warn farmers about upcoming cold or wet conditions that could cause their livestock harm. The alerts are key to ensuring animal welfare, especially when conditions can be unpredictable or fast-changing. McGrath now has around 1,500 sheep on his property — a small fraction of the 78.8 million in Australia, according to 2023 estimates by Meat and Livestock Australia. These alerts are most often sent to farmers in southwest Western Australia, southern South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and much of NSW, a BoM spokesperson told SBS News. NSW has the most sheep in Australia — around 36 per cent — followed by Victoria at 24 per cent and Western Australia at 19 per cent. The BoM spokesperson said the frequency of warnings would likely increase as the weather becomes colder and wetter, especially for people living in Australia's southern regions. "The bureau uses a combination of wind, temperature and rain thresholds to determine if a warning needs to be issued," the spokesperson said. "When the temperature is colder, combined with strong winds and rain, a warning is more likely to be issued." "For example, if it is 11C and rainy, but with no breeze, a warning wouldn't be triggered. Once winds of 25km/h are added in, this would trigger a warning," the spokesperson explained. "By extension, the colder and rainier it is, the lighter the winds need to be to trigger a warning." McGrath said that sheep shearing takes place in October and November and that the birthing of lambs happens around September or October. When winter does roll around, the lambs are older and more resilient to the cold, and the sheep have regrown their wool. "We manage our whole operation around trying to keep our sheep from being cold," he said. "We have all our property fenced so that we can shelter those sheep in the best possible locations when we get a [sheep grazier] warning." There are also sheds on his property where sheep can be housed in cold and wet weather. But temperature and rainfall can be unpredictable. McGrath recalled a cold night in September decades ago when a large number of his lambs died due to harsh weather conditions. Newborn lambs are susceptible to hypothermia (low body temperature) and can die from it. "The lambs were a week old, and the ewes didn't go to the shelter in the paddock. They stood out in the middle, and we lost lambs," he said. "We would've lost 200 lambs in a night." He said it's a night he won't forget and has learned from. "We're in a vastly different situation with our set-up — with our paddocks and our infrastructure — now than we were then, 40 years ago." The Australian wing of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) publishes guidelines on animal welfare for livestock farmers. One such online resource advises how livestock owners can stay prepared for extreme events and weather. "Emergency events like droughts, fires, floods and other natural disasters are an unfortunate reality ... becoming more frequent as a result of climate change," it reads. "Owners of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry and other farm animals have a duty of care to always ensure the welfare of their animals." In Australia, sheep are reared primarily for their wool and meat. As of 2023, Australia was the world's largest exporter of sheepmeat, both by volume and value, according to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The sheep and wool industries employed over 16,000 Australians directly and contributed more than $7.9 billion to the Australian economy in 2023-24. Market research company IBISWorld forecasts that the industry will contribute an additional $1 billion to the Australian economy by 2030. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations have both predicted a 48 per cent increase in the producer price of Australian sheepmeat over the next decade. Meat and Livestock Australia estimates that the country had approximately 5.8 per cent of the world's sheep flock in 2022. The gross value of Australian lamb and mutton production is expected to rise by 5 per cent to $4.6 billion in 2024–25. The increase is due to higher prices and higher production cited by the federal government's June 2024 Agricultural Commodities Outlook. Wool has long been associated with Australia. The National Wool Museum in Geelong, Victoria, has artefacts from the sheep industry dating back to the 1790s. The industry has thrived since, making Australia the world's largest producer of wool, in addition to being the world's largest exporter of sheepmeat. According to Trading Economics, as of 21 May, 100 kilograms of Australian wool was priced at $1,189. Animal welfare Extreme Weather Share this with family and friends
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
New welfare code for sheep and beef cattle proposed
After milking the sheep are put out to fresh pasture to graze. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) is seeking feedback on a revised code of welfare for sheep and beef cattle. NAWAC is an independent group which advises the government on animal welfare issues. The draft code proposes several updates to minimum standards and recommendations for best practice, and includes a ban on using electric cattle prods. Chairperson Dr Matt Stone said this followed best practice overseas and few farmers used the electro-immobilisation devices these days anyway. "The majority of farmers no longer use this method, and we feel there are better alternatives out there that are highly effective." Among other key changes are the introduction of dairy sheep standards, which Dr Stone described as a "growing industry". "That's a brand new section in the code that obviously draws from industry experience but also apply sort of let's call them hybrid settings between some for the settings we might see in the dairy cattle code but then of course also related to sheep husbandry." There would also be new minimum standards for animals in off-paddock facilities and feedlots, and ensuring sheep and beef cattle have the opportunity to express natural behaviours. This included contingency planning, which Dr Stone said was especially "topical" given multiple adverse weather events across New Zealand in recent years. "[They] describe the responsibilities of farmers and people in charge of animals in relation to contingency planning for adverse weather events, but also for infrastructure failures such as critical infrastructure on farm automated feeding systems, these types of things , or a fire or other natural disaster." Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairperson Kate Acland said the draft appeared to take a "balanced approach" to ensuring stock owners ensure the welfare of the animals in their care. "Based on our initial analysis of the updated Code, the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee should be commended for considering on-farm practicality, and for showing their reasoning, in setting out the standards that must be achieved." The new proposals take into account new technologies and updated science, she said. Pain relief during animal husbandry procedures such as docking or tailing has been recommended as best practice rather than a minimum standard, and the standards around shade and shelter appear sensible and achievable. Acland said some areas though may need a closer look, such as ensuring unweaned lambs being prepared for transport have been fed within a specified period. "As farmers, we pride ourselves on how we look after the animals in our care." In addition to seeking views from sheep and beef farmers and others affected by the changes, Dr Stone said NAWAC was encouraging feedback from animal advocates and the public. "We welcome a wide range of perspectives on the proposed changes to ensure the code is practical and delivers good animal welfare outcomes." More information can be found on the Ministry for Primary Industries website . Consultation closes on 15 July.
