In an effort to raise awareness of sheep farming, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) is promoting ‘Love Lamb Week’ which begins this Sunday (August 1) and will run through till next week.
‘Love Lamb Week’ is to focus on the key elements of sheep farming to raise awareness about what it involves and how the work that farmers do delivers for everyone in society.
The UFU is collaborating with industry body the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), for the initiative.
UFU beef and lamb chair Brendan Kelly said: “The sheep sector is an integral part of the agri-food industry and this ‘Love Lamb Week’ we are focusing on what happens on sheep farms across the region to help add more value to the final product and to highlight our contribution to wider society.
“If there is a lack of awareness about the farming practices that Northern Ireland sheep farmers uphold, from shearing sheep for the health of the animal to grazing the flock to maintain biodiversity and sequester carbon, it can impact a buyer’s choices and undervalue local produce.
“For our 2024 ‘Love Lamb Week’ campaign, we have a variety of content planned to raise awareness of sheep farming.
This includes a video explaining the basics about sheep farming, why sheep farming is vital in upland areas and the care and attention that lambing season requires.
Kelly said: “All of which demonstrate the expertise and professionalism of our farmers which is often underestimated.
He added there will also be a competition running to engage more with consumers and an Instagram takeover is planned on the UFU account to show what a day is like on farm for a sheep farmer.
In the 2023 sheep census, it reported that there is approximately two million sheep in NI including 973,718 breeding ewes.
38% of farmers in NI have sheep and the value of the sheep industry output in 2023 was £109 million.
However, due to an increase in input costs and lower market return, NI sheep farmers have some of the lowest farming incomes.
The UFU beef and lamb chair said: “Nutritious lamb is only one of the many things that sheep farming delivers for NI.
“We hope that our ‘Love Lamb Week’ campaign will gather support and help consumers understand why this sector is worth investing in, and they can do so by choosing local.”
LMC chief executive Colin Smith said: “We are delighted to once again team up with UFU to promote our responsibly produced, nutritious, world class Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured (NIFQA) lamb. We are pleased that ABP Linden will also be joining the campaign’s promotional efforts this year.
Smith said that ‘Love Lamb Week’ “shines a light on all the positive attributes of UK sheep production” as well as highlighting the “versatility of lamb and its nutritional credentials”.
Throughout the week LMC will promote the versatility of lamb and encourage consumers to try it in a range of ways.
“We are looking forward to sharing key messages via print, radio and digital platforms throughout the course of the week,” the LMC chief executive added.
