Double win for NSA Scottish Region in first prize draw of 2016

18th January 2016

Luck was on the side of NSA Scottish Region members Sue Francis and Caroline Nelson after they each recommended a family member or friend to join NSA and received a £200 voucher as a result.

NSA has teamed up with FecpakG2, Cox Agri/Ritchey and JG Animal Health to give away three £200 vouchers at a free prize draw giveaway every other month in 2016. New NSA members are automatically entered into the draw, as well as existing members who have recommend a friend or neighbour to sign up to NSA.

Sue Francis, who farms in Argyll, West Scotland, is the recipient of a FecpakG2 voucher, while Suffolk breeder Caroline Nelson from Kelso, Scottish Borders, receives one for Cox Agri/Richey. The third in this first prize draw, a JG Animal Health voucher, was won by an NSA member from Wales.

Having been considering investigating the drench efficacy within her flock of North Country Cheviots, Sue describes her win as the ‘perfect opportunity’ to allow FecpakG2 to help her do that. She says: “I started my flock in 2004 with 20 North Country Cheviot lambs. This has since grown to 230 ewes, most of which I put back to the North Country Cheviot tup. I lamb indoors from mid-March and for some time have been tagging lambs at birth and recording parentage and any problems which arise. I tend to keep most tup lambs entire and will sell most of them as shearlings, while I keep females as replacement for my own flock”.

Both Sue and Caroline have been members of NSA for number of years now, highlighting the regular communication from the NSA Weekly Email Updates and bi-monthly Sheep Farmer magazine as being extremely useful.

Caroline describes her interest in sheep, and Suffolks in particular, as beginning after rearing a few orphan lambs with a friend. She says: “I’m steadfastly loyal to the Suffolk breed. Due to a number of factors, I keep the flock down to around 10 breeding ewes and their followers. Female replacements are sourced from breed dispersal or genuine reduction sales. For a small flock such as mine, purchasing semen from proven, quality tups allows the desired genetics to be carefully sourced and thus avoid inbreeding.”

Caroline attends around five agricultural shows each year, which included NSA Scot Sheep in 2014, where she had the winning pair of Suffolk gimmers. Caroline says she will be using the £200 voucher to purchase some much sought-after show and sale equipment, as well as some day-to-day necessities, including some new waterproofs! 

NSA is giving away a total of 18, £200 vouchers between 1st December 2015 and 4th November 2016. Anyone who qualified for the draw but is not lucky enough to win the first time has their entry rolled over to the subsequent draws, and there is no limit to the number of entries existing members have, so the more new members they recommend the higher their chance of winning. Full terms and conditions and membership application forms at www.nationalsheep.org.uk/draw.