Big losses if gimmers cant be moved off
Big losses if gimmers cant be moved off
IF its 600 Mule gimmer lambs, already sold for breeding, cannot be moved off the farm within the next three weeks the Greystoke Estate, Penrith, Cumbria, will suffer a five-figure loss of income.
The lambs have been sold to neighbouring producers, although no money has changed hands, says the estates farm manager, David Lawton. Trading standards staff responsible for animal movements have said that blood-testing delays could mean it will be six weeks before the lambs can be moved.
"There is a slim hope that the time delay may not be quite as long, but it is unlikely that we will have enough grass to support these lambs beyond late October.
"If the only option is to sell them as prime lambs, we will suffer a huge loss," he says.
As well as 400 Mule ewes and an expanding flock of North Country Cheviots, Greystoke Estates carries 1900 Swaledale ewes, with 1400 of them crossed to produce Mule lambs.
"If sheep cannot be moved in large numbers in the next few weeks, I am convinced the sheep sector is facing a deeply worrying welfare crisis." *