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Island sheep farmer gaining new skills

Island sheep farmer gaining new skills

A young sheep farmer who has moved from the fertile fields of Kincardineshire to Iona to farm is among a group of 11 receiving specialist training to improve their businesses and help them become the future voices of British sheep farming.

Andrew Prentice is going through the National Sheep Association next generation ambassador programme. The first training session was last week at Droitwich in Worcestershire. The group was told about market selection, food chain development, sheep husbandry, brands and adding value, optimising genetics, meeting targets, business planning, presentation skills, conflict resolution and promoting the sheep sector.

Mr Prentice, 31, hopes to gain new skills to improve his sheep enterprise, both from a management and production perspective.

“I also want to raise the profile and problems of hill farming, especially in Scotland, as I feel we get a raw deal from the single farm payment regime and stock sale prices,” he added.

Mr Prentice and his wife, Lorna, and their two children, recently moved to Iona, where they have taken on the rent of a 240-acre farm from the National Trust for Scotland. They also have common grazing shares. They previously had a 91-acre unit in Kincardineshire.

Mr Prentice said: “We moved to Iona to get a larger hill unit at a reasonable rent within an area that best suits our sheep, south-type Blackfaces. Here we do not have to compete with cattle and arable units that receive large single farm payments and are able to afford crazy rents.

“On Iona we are farming south-type Blackies mainly for the female breeding production. In the future we are hoping to market our lamb using the Mull abattoir.

“We’re also hoping to purchase some Highland Cattle in the autumn to complement the sheep grazing.”

The farm they have let from the National Trust for Scotland is initially on a five-year tenancy, but the hope is to have that extended. They might also in future take on land on neighbouring Mull.

The couple said they were appreciative of the opportunity they were being given by the National Trust.

The other Scot on the ambassador programme is Jennifer Craig, 24.

She runs 800 Blackface ewes, 200 commercials and her own flock of 25 pedigree Charollais ewes with her dad at Biggar. She wants to reintroduce cattle to the 1,750-acre hill farm.