The National Sheep Association (NSA) is pleased to announce Cumbrian father and son farming team, Andrew and Matthew Tomkins, as the first recipients of the NSA prize giveaway this year.
Having recently joined the sheep farming organisation as joint NSA members, Andrew and Matthew are the lucky winners of a new Solway lamb adopter kindly donated by quality recycled-product manufacturer Solway Recycling, as part of NSA’s 2021/22 membership prize giveaway.
Andrew and Matthew, alongside the rest of the Tomkins family, farm 300ac of upland just outside of Longtown, Cumbria, running a flock of 300 Llanwenog and Llanwenog cross Berrichon ewes, plus a small pedigree flock of Oxford Down sheep and a herd of pedigree Beef Shorthorn cattle. The farm supplies their onsite butchery, online sales and catering business ‘Hallsford farm produce’ with native breed beef and lamb.
Matthew said: “We were surprised to hear we had been selected as winners as we had only recently joined NSA but of course we are very pleased with the news.
“The NSA’s current work on heritage breeds and marketing of UK lamb, mutton and hogget really caught our attention.
“We believe this differentiation is key to helping to bring market control back to the farmer.”
NSA
Earlier this week, the National Sheep Association said that it welcomed any measures that would give strength to legislation on livestock worrying by dogs.
However, the sheep farming association believes that strengthening police powers to seize dogs should have been further backed up by a significant increase in the maximum fines that could be imposed.
Following the announcement that stricter measures to crack down on livestock worrying were to be introduced in England and Wales through the Kept Animals Bill introduced to Parliament earlier this week, NSA chief executive Phil Stocker commented:
“This was an opportunity to create a major deterrent to this antisocial behaviour by substantially increasing the maximum applicable fine alongside more proactive measures to prevent attacks occurring.”
Read the full article here.
