Interesting to see there's a show coming on BBC2 about lambing! it's being hosted by Kate (fluffy bunny) Humble. I don't know about others, but I find her sooooo patronising! It would seem she has been in training to help out on a welsh sheep farm, with a live 7 day broadcast at the height of lambing from 7th march. May I wish her the best of luck, my lambing will be almost over by then, so I will watch it to get my fix!

As long as it's better than the farming-related show Monty Don does...

I look forward to watching it. Hope present it in a factual (warts an' all) manner and not too soppy ! If they're any good I might invite them round to our's next year ! They could call it "Lambing Live....and Dead". Or even "Lambing, Dead or Alive"

You can find out more about it - and watch some preview clips at

www.bbc.co.uk/lambinglive

 I have been making some films for this show with Adam Henson from Countryfile - who will also be presenting. We have been looking at different sheep breeds all over the UK. From seaweed eating North Ronaldsay sheep in the Orkneys - to North Country Mules in the Yorkshire Dales - and Romneys on the South Downs...

 We will be adding more preview clips - including a sheep breed of the day - as we get closer to the 5 days of live broadcast...

hope you all enjoy it!

 I will be watching this, as the farm is local to me and I (and my parents) know the Bevan's. I hope the BBC are not going to censor it too much, so that it shows the realities of life, and as my dad usually collects their dead stock, I hope that we do not have to be called out regularly during this filming, or the lambing season as a whole.

As we will have finished lambing a few days before the programme goes out I suspect I will have had a surfeit of the experience so will not be too keen to see other people doing it on TV.  On the other hand, if it gets the usual Countryfile audience, casual acquaintances will expect me to have some ready comment on the previous night's episode.

In the post today an invitation from our vets to attend two lambing workshops funded by every relevant quango you can think of.  The first one is on the third of March, the day on which our last ewe is due to lamb.  Very useful!

samba:

We have been looking at different sheep breeds all over the UK. From seaweed eating North Ronaldsay sheep in the Orkneys - to North Country Mules in the Yorkshire Dales - and Romneys on the South Downs...

 

What about Greyface Dartmoors, easily the most popular sheep with the public at westcountry shows! 

 As we don't start our 700 till March 20th We might get a chance to see it. Depending on if we are still preapring for lambing or having to feed and bed the shed by hand with straw (word of advice walkthrough feeders make excellent places to pass out in telehandlers not so they make you feel of stiff as well as getting pins and needles)

any tips for filming with live animals?! I hope it shows ALL the sides the sheep farming

 When involving sheep lambing they'll wait til the person watchinghas turned their back after waiting an hour especially if they have a camera as numerous children, friends and friends of friends have found out.

queenb:

I hope it shows ALL the sides the sheep farming

I hope they can adequately show the distress in the faces and lives of farmers when, despite efforts sometimes of many days, a young lamb or ewe dies. I hope too that they can capture that sense of tiredness and apprehension when one is trudging up to the lambing sheds for the twentieth time that day, and this time it's 3 in the morning and snowing, but your rapidly chilling body is still warm from laying on the settee beside the log burner, whilst your mouth is beginning to taste nasty because you didn't have time to clean your teeth before you dropped off at midnight.

I hope they show the joy on the shepherd's face when the young lamb finally decides that it wants to live after being 'willed' (with all that entails) to live by the shepherd for two full days.

It would be nice if, during this film of the vicissitudes of farming, that they could draw a contrast between this, and the life of one of those people who consider country folk and farmers as unfeeling, unthinking, barbarians desperately in need of the civilising influence of the Islington Labour Party.  

our next neighbour has an young lad (out of college type), i think he preferes tractors to sheep.  I remember he saying to me (like oh gosh it takes over 2 hours to feed the sheep). i didnt say to him that it takes me over 2 hours to feed everything on my farm twice a day every day.

hes doing the night shift. good luck to him.

as to kate humble i bet she look to the nines every day, and as to people she be working with, they be looking like they walked through an hedge backwards.

welshnwilling:

They could call it "Lambing Live....and Dead". Or even "Lambing, Dead or Alive"

 

 

 

Or in our case today "Lambing, 3 days old then get sqaushed by there mum!"

 

Aha!

 

xx

 

I shall be recording it and watching it the day after with my 6 year old.  He wants to watch it but it's on too late for him.  He was desperate to stay the night with me last year when I was doing night shift at the college during lambing time.

I was dreading it when I heard that "soppy" Kate Humble was presenting it, but I heard her on Radio 2 this afternoon and she sounded quite sensible, so fingers crossed eh.

viewfromtheothersideofthefence:

 

I shall be recording it and watching it the day after with my 6 year old.  He wants to watch it but it's on too late for him.  He was desperate to stay the night with me last year when I was doing night shift at the college during lambing time.

Let's hope he's that keen in 10 yrs time

welshnwilling:

I was dreading it when I heard that "soppy" Kate Humble was presenting it, but I heard her on Radio 2 this afternoon and she sounded quite sensible, so fingers crossed eh.

 

Me too, but as you say, she did sound pretty nonplussed.

It looks like tupping will feature, how do they get that in before the watershed!!!  

Just a reminder that this starts on Sunday on BBC 2 at 8pm.

So, what did we think?

Content was a bit higgledy piggledy, but when you get used to the cutting to different topics it was watchable.

I reckon there will be some comments on the gratuitous showing of rams nadgers! not to mention performance!

Nothing lambed live, but i'm sure they will get one on live due to laws of averages. I do think Kate is far too loud and overenthusiastic with her presenting style...if the ewes could put their hooves in their ears, i'm sure they would have done! 

crazysheep:

I do think Kate is far too loud and overenthusiastic with her presenting style...if the ewes could put their hooves in their ears, i'm sure they would have done! 

 

Quite agree, and perhaps they should change the name to " Lambing soon ". If it's any consolation, none of our ewes lambed while it was on either !

crazysheep:

I do think Kate is far too loud and overenthusiastic with her presenting style...

Agreed,  but as you say, that is 'style.' The substance was OK for a general TV audience, but we shall have to wait and see what the next few programmes are like.

What is interesting however is that the BBC is beginning to show an interest in those aspects of an activity that actually contributes to the nations ongoing future. Could it be that there are a few folks in the BBC who are now beginning to wonder where their money comes from?

On the evidence of the first programme this seems to be yet another example of the BBC giving the lie to those who used to carp on about there being no favourable farming coverage on mainstream TV and a world away from the barmpot dreamers on Ch 4's 'Dream Farm'!   With our last lambs having arived at 7.30 this morning, I may even watch for the rest of the week safe in the knowledge I haven't got to rush off to check our ewes before going to bed!

I  thought the programme had good content and gave non farmers a good background about sheep farming.

I think any program that offers an insight into farming is important, just look at how popular Countryfile is, and the timeslot it now holds, Adam Henson is a real credit to the show, and reflects the qualities of a good commercial farmer with a heart. Programmes like Jimmy's Food Factory and others in his portfolio also have an important message to portray. I watched last night, and will be watching again (Sky Plus Recorded with my eight and eleven year old this evening) before watching and recording again tonight. Farming is a crucial and a major industry, and like I have expressed before, if a owner of a engineering firm, had as many staff as a farmer, and a business with the same turnover, and need to invest in equipment he would be held in high esteem.

Watched the program last night and thought that it was exerlant. Why is there not more programs like this, the british public should learn as to were there food comes from. And i think that the farm which adam and kate are on  was a loverly farm some realy nice buildings.

Perry