Amy- Jo Reid

Update - December 2020

2020 has been a year like no other, in more ways than one! Rural areas around us were deserted through Spring lockdown, reducing dog worrying around lambing time, but employers were nervous about having contractors on farm, so some gathering work was lost this Summer.

The loss of our vital social agricultural shows hit the community hard, but also meant folk had more time to focus on their businesses and get caught up – so extra work this year has also been scarce. In the estate contract flock and my own flock, Bbowfly strike and maggots have been absolutely rife this summer and even into late autumn, alongside warm and wet weather encouraging unusually high prevalence of worms and fluke.

We’ve enjoyed buoyant trade in both the breeding rings and from the abattoir, but an uncertain future lies ahead with the looming exit from the EU and any potential trade deal discussions. 2021 looks set to be another year of face masks, social distancing and more cancelled events, but I’m confident our thriving industry will be resilient and adaptable to whatever obstacles are thrown our way.