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Trees and sheep:
planting trees and
sheep farming
image: WTPL Alan Southworth
image: Laurance Clark
image: Laurance Clark
Outdoor lambing has become increasingly popular as it reduces labour
costs and offers reduced disease build-up compared to housed lambing.
Even in areas where outdoor lambing is impractical or indoor lambing is
still preferred due to unpredictable weather, early turnout is increasingly
common.
ew research shows sheep are
more likely to survive wet,
windy and cold winters and
scorching summer days if
they are provided with shelter
in the form of trees, shrubs
and hedgerows.
As part of a study partially funded by the
Woodland Trust, scientists at Bangor
University have created robotic sheep fitted
with sophisticated electronics that measure
the energy it takes to maintain their body
temperature in different conditions on farm. If
we can better understand the influence of
external factors such as cold, heat, rain or
wind on the body of an animal we can seek to
maximise yields through simple land
management changes.
The benefits
One simulation examined the risk of
thermal stress in livestock in an upland field
and revealed the probability of animals
experiencing potentially fatal wind chill fell by
more than 20% if they had shelter.
Early findings have also revealed that if
N
The Woodland Trust is a registered Charity
Nos 294344 and SC038885
10 | Farming Monthly | May 2017
sheep can maintain a comfortable
temperature then more of their energy can be
allocated to producing meat and maintaining
condition.
The research highlights a real value to
creating shelter within the field system –
hedges, shelterbelts and single trees can all
add value.
Meet the sheep
The electric ewes, Melyn and Glas, will be
on display at the Woodland Trust stand at
both the Welsh and North National Sheep
Association’s trade shows.
They will be joined by their “shepherd”,
PhD student Pip Jones. Pip has been
recording the energy consumption of the
sheep as she moves them around the fields at
Bangor University’s research farm; comparing
what happens in places where trees,
hedgerows or shelter belts offer protection in
locations where there is no shelter.
By measuring the power consumed by the
robotic sheep to maintain their internal
temperature in different conditions,
researchers can work out how much energy
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