NSA Shearwell EID Stick Reader Kit prize giveaway 2015: Kristian Mitchell, Flitshire
18th December 2015
When Kristian Mitchell got the phone call to say he was the final winner in the NSA 2015 membership recruitment campaign, it was almost cut short as he thought it was one of his friends pulling a prank!
NSA teamed up with Shearwell Data in 2015 to give away one stick reader kit a month through the year, with winners chosen at random from people who sign up as an NSA member, or existing members who have referred someone to join. Mr Mitchell is the 12th and final winner.
He says: “I couldn’t help thinking it was a prank when I found out I’d won, as I don’t seem to have much luck with competitions. I feel lucky and privileged to be the last person to win this impressive prize. From an early age I have always been interested in farming. My first experience with sheep was helping out my uncle with his flock, and before long I was hooked. I remember my parents buying me some store lambs for my birthday, after which I was keen to establish my own breeding flock.”
Mr Mitchell, who lives at Holywell, Flintshire, North Wales, is currently renting blocks of permanent pasture from family and friends to operate his sheep enterprise. On top of this, he juggles a number of other commitments, working full time for Flintshire County Council and helping out at a local dairy farm during busy periods and most weekends.
He says his new reader kit will aid him in being more efficient with his ewe performance records, particularly as he move towards more of a closed flock in the future. He explains: “My flock of 50 breeding ewes is made up of Welsh Mules and Lleyns, all of which either go to the Texel or Beltex ram at the beginning of November. Due to the poor price of lamb this season, I have kept more ewe lambs back for breeding, I lamb these as hoggs to try and keep replacement costs down. I also try to keep performance records for all my ewes, to ensure no ewe lambs are kept back from those with a poor performance record.”
Mr Mitchell adds: “I joined NSA because of the informative and interesting information it provides on the ever-changing sheep industry. I found the NSA Next Generation website particularly helpful, due to the information it provides for young people wanting to get a foot in the sheep farming industry. As I’ve experienced myself, it’s really hard to get started independently and I’ve found the range of innovative ideas it covers on new technologies inspirational in terms of pushing my sheep enterprise in the right direction.”
The prize draw in 2016 is supported by Cox/Ritchey, JG Animal Health and FecpakG2, with a £200 voucher from each company given away six times through the year. In the bimonthly draw, each time a winner is picked all non-winning entries will automatically roll over to the next draw. Full terms and conditions and membership application forms at www.nationalsheep.org.uk/draw.
