Second of six sheep feeders won by tenant farmer in Worcestershire
8th May 2014
Worcestershire farmer Andrew Baxter has won the second of six 3in1 Advantage Feeders being given away in the National Sheep Association 2014 membership recruitment campaign.
A draw for the feeder is held every two months, with entry open to new members and existing members who recommend a friend or neighbour who signs up. The more people a member recommends, the more entries they get into the draw.
Mr Baxter was dehorning some calves when he received the good news from NSA Marches Region Chairman Kevin Harrison, and admits he was glad to have given in to peer pressure to sign up as a new member.
“I joined NSA because Charlotte Underwood, the NSA Membership Recruitment Officer, is a near neighbour and had been badgering me!” he says. “I find the NSA Weekly Email Update really helpful in keeping up with the latest news in the sheep industry. And the ability to access the Lambing List and attract students to work on the farm during that busy time of year was another reason for joining.”
Mr Baxter is a tenant on the Croome Estate, farming 670 acres in partnership with his wife. They run 350 ewes and 100 sucklers as well as growing 450 acres of combinable crops. The North Country Mule ewes are put to Suffolk rams and the finished lambs sold through Worcester Market. The sheep and cattle are primarily grazed on Higher Level Stewardship grassland that makes up part of the National Trust’s Croome Landscape Park.
“The 3in1 feeder I am sure will be a very useful acquisition,” says Mr Baxter, who paid to upgrade from the 800 model (which holds 500kg of feed) to the 1800 (1,150kg of feed). “The principle of controlling feed rates and stopping gorging by the greedy ones will be of great benefit and make creep feeding more cost efficient. The ability to be able to feed our own cereals through the feeder in a controlled way will be really useful too.”
The 3-in-1 feeder is designed to allow restricted feed intakes and make ad lib feeding easier. It can be set to require stock to lick feed out of a groove between two adjusters, which can be moved into different positions to limit feed intake to varying amounts. As saliva levels decrease with successive licks, each feeding period is limited naturally.
There are four more Advantage 3-in-1 Feeders to be given away to NSA members. To be in with a chance of winning, download a membership application form at www.nationalsheep.org.uk/membership, call NSA Head Office on 01684 892661 or visit the NSA stand at various shows and events this year. Non-members should simply fill the form in and join NSA. Existing members should write their postcode or membership number in the space provided, pass the form on to a friend and get them to sign up. The four remaining draws will take place over the course of 2014, and each time all non-winning entries will be rolled over to the subsequent draws – so the sooner you enter, the more chances you have to win! Find out more and see terms and conditionsat www.nationalsheep.org.uk/draw .
Notes to editors:-
- For further information and high resolution images please contact Joanne Briggs, NSA Communications Manager, on 07807 237982 or joanne@nationalsheep.org.uk.
- The National Sheep Association is an organisation that represents the views and interests of sheep producers throughout the UK. It is funded by its membership of sheep farmers and its activities involve it in every aspect of the sheep industry. More at www.nationalsheep.org.uk and www.nsanextgeneration.org.uk.
