The National Sheep Association (NSA) has said that its 2023 NSA Welsh Sheep event next month will showcase the “very best” of commercial farming in Wales.
The event will welcome visitors to Red House Farm, Aberharesp, Powys, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
The on-farm event aims to be a technical and informative one that the NSA says is “not to be missed by sheep producers far and wide”.
This year, the association said, there will be a new emphasis on reaching out to tell the public of the “positive story” that is Welsh sheep farming.
The NSA said the event will feature a seminar tent that will have discussions on the role of lamb and mutton in the human diet.
As well as this, conversations will be held surrounding the sustainability of sheep farming and the importance of looking after the next sheep farming generation.
Seminars
The seminars will be chaired by John Yeomans, NSA Cymru committee member; Phil Stocker, NSA chief executive; and Catherine Smith, chair of Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).
Yeomans will chair the discussion on lamb and mutton’s role in the diet, and he will be joined by speakers Dr Eleri Thomas from HCC, Robbie Davison from Can Cook-Well Fed and Bob Kennard of British Heritage Sheep.
The NSA Welsh Sheep team said the discussion will focus on the criticism red meat has faced and how research needs to be used to challenge this.
“This seminar will explore how our predominantly grass-fed lamb and mutton can fit with healthy eating messages, giving you some facts that can be used to dispel some of the myths around eating meat,” it said.
NSA chief executive Stocker will chair the seminar on sheep sector sustainability, with guest speakers including Rachel Madeley Davies of HCC, Dr Janet Roden of Innovis, Prysor Williams of Bangor University and Nicky Naylor of Harper Adams University.
Stocker’s discussion will focus on how the Welsh sheep sector aims to produce high quality food sustainably, and fit in other interests around land management including the increasing demands relating to carbon sequestration.
Questions will be asked in relation to what can be done to reduce emissions in the sector, the potential for grasslands to outperform mass forestry in terms of its delivery of public goods, and how pastures and farm infrastructure may need to be managed differently to deliver more.
The event’s final seminar, on the next generation of sheep farmers chaired by Smith, will feature the following speakers:
- Cammy Wilson – The Sheep Game;
- Michael Burley – NSA Next Generation Ambassador;
- Sian Davies – Radnor Young Farmers’ Club;
- Emma Buckby – Agriweb.
The discussion will be centered on making the next generation of sheep farming enthusiastic and well-educated on the industry.
NSA Welsh Sheep said the young farmers need security and support as well as the potential for viable and rewarding businesses and careers.
“This seminar will consider what it will take to further grow a positive recognition of sheep farmers and what we can do to ensure a satisfying and fulfilling future,” it said.
