Sheep farmers flock to electronic movement database meetings

4th March 2014

National Sheep Association’s series of six open meetings with SouthWestern, the provider of the new electronic sheep movement reporting database in England, got off to a flying start last week with well-attended meetings in Cirencester and Exeter on Wednesday 19th February. The lunchtime session at Cirencester Livestock Market drew a crowd of 60 and the evening meeting at Exeter Livestock Centre attracted 170 people.

Both meetings featured a presentation by SouthWestern’s Joe Ryan followed by a question and answer session. Mr Ryan spoke about SouthWestern’s background and their experience delivering agricultural projects, before moving on to an in-depth explanation of the new ARAMS (Animal Recording and Movement Service) system coming into use from 1st April. Changes to paper reporting were discussed alongside a detailed run-through of how electronic reporting would work for farmers who elected to use it, including in common movement scenarios. The floor was then opened for questions.
NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker says: “It’s great that SouthWestern have found time to do these meetings with us before the system goes live in April. The turnout at the sessions so far has been huge and it’s interesting to see that so many people are thinking about using the online option for the new movement reporting system. The information SouthWestern are providing at these meetings is very clear and practical and I hope that everyone who attends finds it useful.”
There are four more meetings in this series, which will follow the same format as the first two. The details of the remaining meetings are:

  • Tuesday 4th March, 12 noon at Ashford Market, Kent
  • Tuesday 4th March, 7.45pm at Bakewell Market Bakewell, Derbyshire
  • Wednesday 5th March, 1pm at J36 Rural Auction Centre, Milnthorpe, Cumbria
  • Wednesday 5th March, 7.30pm at Hexham Auction Market, Northumberland

The meetings are free and open to members and non-members. Booking is not required, but NSA would appreciate numbers for organisations reasons so please call 01684 892663 or email charlotte@nationalsheep.org.uk if you wish to attend. More details are available on the NSA website at www.nationalsheep.org.uk.

The meeting at Exeter
The meeting at Cirencester