Wilson has certainly had a highly successful year taking the top prices at both the Edinburgh and national sales with prices of 48,000gns and 10,000gns respectively. It is a tool all serious breeders should be using because, through optimising figures, the cutting edge of commercial lamb producers are carving themselves greater profit. This flock of 80 ewes has for the fourth time been adjudged as the best in the breed. You only have to watch the bulls at the Perth sales to see that it's...

The real purpose of this interview, though, is to dig into NAIS and what it might mean to the animal agriculture industry. The result is records or data about an animal that cannot be linked collectively to the correct animal across multiple databases maintained by the states, industry and USDA. It is interesting to think that an animal may be identified multiple times but not be fully traceable because separate programs use different herd and flock identification practices. NAIS is a...

Yesterday farming leaders said the package was just enough to keep farming alive, but was not compensation. Yesterday, Mr Lochhead announced a 19 million scheme to support the breeding stock of ewes on top of 4.5 million already allocated for younger lambs that would otherwise have gone to market. Sheep could not be moved off the hills, leaving many at risk of starvation, and farmers could not transport animals to market. Sarah Boyack, Labour's agriculture spokeswoman in Scotland, said the...

Liston said the only way she saw to continue with the sheep was to learn to spin the fiber of the sheep and now spinning and using the yarn has become a passion. In recent times folks with spinning wheels are not a common sight but Sides and Liston are looking for more people who are interested in learning to spin and use the homespun yarn. According to some research done by Sides, men were also involved with the spinning, knitting and quilting but they usually did not want their wives to tell.

AFTER you have removed the dags and finished your run, grateful for the bare-bellied yoe that confirmed your spot as the ringer, the boots will probably tell you to put down your blades, tie up your bowyangs and get some of the brownie that the bait-layer has spent the morning preparing, before the tussock-jumpers eat it all. AFTER you have removed the dags and finished your run, grateful for the bare-bellied yoe that confirmed your spot as the ringer, the boots will probably tell you to...