All roads will lead to Mid Wales on 16th May

All roads will lead to Mid Wales on 16^th May. The occasion is NSA Welsh Sheep 2023, a much anticipated festival of sheep farming.  And while it’s an industry focused event, there will be a big welcome for the public, with lots to interest youngsters and the less knowledgeable.

The venue is Redhouse Farm, Aberhafesp, near Newtown, courtesy of hosts Huw and Sioned Owen, with their son, Dafydd,. There will be spectacular views and all the latest industry information, in the form of 170 trade stands and a range of seminars and exhibitions.

The event will be opened by popular local auctioneer and farmer, Glandon Lewis. He is a partner at Morris Marshall and Poole with Norman Lloyd, who run Welshpool Livestock Sales, Premier Sponsor of the event and where the hosts sell their livestock.

Glandon is very much anticipating the occasion: “I am looking forward greatly to the 16^th May to go to Redhouse Farm.  I’ve been involved with NSA Welsh Sheep since back in the 1990s and with the Owen family for over four decades.

“I’m very honoured to have been asked to open the event and to walk in the shoes of Lord Geraint of Ponterwyd, who opened the event at John Gittins’s hill farm at Cefn Coch, Montomeryshire, in 1993.

“And as an auctioneer, I’m very, very, grateful to the NSA. I’ll be representing the Livestock Auctioneers Association of the UK and this invitation acknowledges how important a role livestock auctioneers play in the livestock and agricultural industry.”

NSA Cymru/Wales Chair Kate Hovers is also really looking forward to the event. She says it will be educational, as well as a fantastic social occasion.

She adds: “It will be a great day, with so much to learn. We will have demonstrations, seminars and also the Welsh Sheep Vet Group will be collaborating on demonstrations and information throughout the day in the Health Hub.

 “It’s a wonderful opportunity also for farmers to emerge after lambing and spring calving to enjoy a day out, to refresh and meet up with friends.  It will be a social event as well as an opportunity to update on the latest trends and health information.”

Major sponsor, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), is looking forward to sharing the latest developments at NSA Welsh Sheep 2023. HCC’s Producer and Processor Support Lead, John Richards, says it will be a good opportunity to catch up after a very challenging few years.

Seminars will include:

•  Food for thought – Where does lamb and mutton fit in a balanced diet?
• Sustainability - How sustainable is our industry.
• Looking after the Next Generation – What does it mean.

The Health Hub programme will include condition scoring and a demonstration of scanning for OPA, biosecurity, ticks and tick diseases. Live demonstrations of sheep dipping throughout the day will be hosted by the Gwaredu Scab Project. The Welsh Next Generation Young Shepherd of the Year will be presented late in the afternoon on the Texel stand.

HCC will be putting on butchery and cookery demonstrations throughout the day.  Prior to the event there will be a carcase competition, held with the help of Pilgrim Foods

Red House extends to 550 acres and rises to 855 feet above sea level, with sweeping views down to the Severn Valley. The Owen family run 1,000 Texel cross ewes, together with Dafydd’s flock of 55 pedigree Beltex sheep.

There is also a flock of a hundred pedigree Texel sheep and a hundred pedigree Limousin suckler cows. Lamb production concentrates on producing a good quality carcass, with a weight that will appeal to all markets.

Organiser Helen Roberts says there is massive interest from the industry and tremendous support from the trade and sponsors.

Note: Entry is free to NSA members on production of current membership card and £15 for non members. Free admission is also available to agricultural students on production of a student union card, to children under 16 and to international visitors on production of passport.