Farmer Focus: Record attempt sees fields white with sheep

The build up to the sheep sheering world record attempt is going as well as possible thanks to a lot of help from friends.

Without them this would not have been an easy task.

We now have an extra 870 ewes supplied by three other farmers for the record attempt, and also an extra 1,000 lambs for Ivan Scott’s lamb world-record attempt on 29 July.

See also: Read more from our Livestock Farmer Focus writers 

With nearly 5,000 sheep on 300 acres it looks white.

Thank you to Pip for running around keeping us all going, as more and more people are turning up from abroad to help with everything that needs to be done.

Also a big thank you to all our sponsors, the British Wool Board, ABP, Heiniger, Cox, Mole Valley, McVeigh Parker, Vincent’s Tractors, Armadillo, Agrimin – just to a name a few.

Without their support we would not be able to go ahead with the attempt.

As this is the first try in the northern hemisphere, there has been a lot of extra cost involved in meeting the strict world record committee’s criteria.

On the day we will be raising money for Little Harbour Children’s Hospice’s Precious Lives Appeal.

See also: Shearing record preparation in full swing

On the farming front, I guess like everyone, the grass has bolted, as have all the forage crops we have planted. 

Even though the fodder beet was four months later than desired, it is catching up well with the season we are having, and not too stressed as we graze most of it in situ with the ewes through winter.  

We have weaned all the lambs. We’ve also shorn all the male lambs and put them in to brassica.

Ewe lambs have been put on to new grass with plantain and are growing well.

We haven’t shorn these yet as we are keeping them for the nine-hour lamb record attempt.  

We have also managed to make a lot more silage than expected, although it is a light crop, cut early to keep the quality up for the sheep.

We are happy with the number of bales, and after getting caught short last winter/spring we are feeling better prepared for the coming seasons.

Matt and Pip Smith run 1,085 breeding Romneys and Romney-cross Lleyn ewes across 121ha. Matt is also a shearing contractor and train sheep dogs.