The Farmers Mart Dec/Jan 2016 - Issue 43 | Page 27

Sheep

NSA to give away £3,600 worth of prizes
»»The National Sheep
Association (NSA) has teamed
up with three companies for its
new membership recruitment
campaign this year. FecpakG2,
Cox Agri/Ritchey and JG Animal
Health have each agreed to
donate six £200 vouchers, one
each for the bimonthly prize
draw giveaways planned in
2016.
New NSA members will be
automatically entered into the
giveaway when they join, while
existing members will go in
each time they recommend
someone to sign up to NSA.
There is no limit to the number
of entries for existing members,
so more recommendations
means more chances to win.
NSA Chief Executive Phil
Stocker says: “NSA is delighted
to be able to offer these
vouchers, and huge thanks are

owed to the three respective
companies involved. FecpakG2,
Cox Agri/Ritchey and JG Animal
Health have made this possible
in generously donating £1,200
worth of vouchers each, to
be given away throughout
the membership recruitment
giveaway. NSA’s aim is to
use these offers to boost
membership numbers, which
will help in giving us a stronger

and more effective voice as
well as us to provide better
support and services.”
FecpakG2 supports
producers who are looking
to increase financial returns
by decreasing drench costs,
gaining a better understanding
of which drenches will work
best on their farm and reducing
the impact of drench resistance.
Cox Agri/Ritchey has built a

reputation for the quality range
of products it offers to livestock
farmers, from handling and
weighing equipment to eartags
and animal health products.
JG Animal Health works
closely with pedigree and
commercial breeders to identify
and address reasons behind
poor performance and under
achievement of stock.
Mr Stocker concludes: “All
three companies work in areas
NSA is keen to promote in
order to improve health and
efficiency of sheep flocks.”
Six prize draws will be held
every other month through the
year, and each time winners
are picked all non-winning
entries will automatically
roll over to the next draw.
More information at: www.
nationalsheep.org.uk/draw

More than 60 young people with an
interest in the sheep sector spent
the day at Newton Rigg College
»»More than 60 young people with
an interest in the sheep sector spent an
informative day at Newton Rigg College,
Cumbria, arming themselves with information
to get ahead in the industry.
The event, organised jointly by the National
Sheep Association (NSA) and Innovation for
Agriculture (IfA), also saw the search start for a
group of young enthusiasts to form the 2016
NSA Next Generation Ambassador Group. This
is the third time that applications have been
invited for NSA Ambassadors, offering the
opportunity for up to 12 people to attend five
training sessions through the year covering
a wide range of sheep farming best practice,
personal development and business skills.
Ambassadors from both the 2014 and 2015
groups were among the strong attendance
at the Newton Rigg event, joining other
young people to hear a range of speakers
and partake in technical workshops during

Paul Rennison (left) describes his
transition from farm manager to tenant
to first-time farm owner, while Harry
Frederick (right) uses special glasses
to see the world through the eyes of a
sheep at the stock handling workshop

the day. Samuel Wharry, NSA Chairman,
described his share farming venture in
County Antrim, Northern Ireland, while Paul
and Nic Rennison from Renwick, Cumbria,
talked about their progression from farm
manager to tenants to buying their first farm.
The technical workshops covered everything
from nutrition and genetics to sheep handling
and lamb selection.
Joanne Briggs delivers the NSA Next
Generation project. She says: “It was great to

see so many sheep enthusiasts taking part in
the event and using the technical workshops
to ask questions to benefit and develop their
own businesses and careers. It was also
the perfect occasion to start the process of
finding young people for the 2016 NSA Next
Generation Ambassador Group. The first
two Ambassadors Groups have been hugely
successful and we are very excited to open
the opportunity to another intake.”
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