A glimpse into Lake District farming sales and shows
At this time of year, many sheep farmers in the Lake District will be busy preparing for the back-end sales, getting ready to sell their surplus breeding stock, such as gimmer lambs, draft ewes and tups.
Potential buyers may have had a preview of some of these animals – particularly tups – at a sheep show earlier in the year such as Mungrisdale, or at a spring tup fair such as Keswick, and will be keeping an eye out for them at the sales.
A huge amount of hard work, pride and passion goes into breeding, showing and selling livestock, with bloodlines going back generations. In the case of the three distinctive sheep breeds of the Lake District – the Herdwick, Swaledale and Rough Fell – registered flocks have existed for over 100 years. For this reason, one of the most enjoyable parts of my job as Farming Officer is going to sheep shows and shepherds meets, as well as attending the local auction marts.
At the Lake District National Park Authority, we provide sponsorship to around 35 farming shows, sheepdog trials, shepherds’ meets, livestock sales and young handlers’ competitions each year.
These events are a great opportunity for us to catch up with farmers, better understand the challenges they are facing and connect them to opportunities for support, including Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) funding.
On that note, we are delighted to welcome three new Farming and FiPL Officers to the LDNPA FiPL team – Jess Clark, Sam Hallam and Alice Keenan. Jess comes from a small farm just inside the Northern Lake District and has expertise and experience in animal health and veterinary epidemiology.
Sam joins with a strong understanding of Cumbrian hill farming, shaped by his recent studies specialising in 20th-century agricultural history, as well as his time living in the Lake District. Alice brings more than a decade of experience working with farmers across the UK and Ireland, including in the Yorkshire Dales in her previous role with the National Trust. They are looking forward to getting out and about across the Lake District, meeting farmers and helping deliver projects that support both farm businesses and the National Park landscape.
If you spot us out and about, please come over and have a chat with us. In the meantime you can find out more about the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme on the website: Farming in Protected Landscapes – Lake District National Park
