I’m writing this newsletter from my sister-in-law’s home here in Bibury, Gloucestershire (South England). We recently held our first Trustees meeting since the 2024 Conference in Edinburgh, and I’m pleased to report we had full attendance. During the meeting, we welcomed two new Trustees: Theresa Morrissey, representing the RUAS in Northern Ireland, and Dan O’Connor, representing the Ekka in Queensland, Australia. It was great to receive feedback from everyone.
In this newsletter, you’ll find a report from the 2024 Royal Adelaide Show. The 2024 Royal Melbourne Show has just concluded, and I’ll include a full report in the next edition.
Peter Nation, who spoke at the 2024 Conference, recently informed me via email that he is retiring from his role managing Fieldays, near Hamilton in New Zealand’s North Island. Under Peter’s leadership, the event has grown into one of the largest field days in the Southern Hemisphere.
Allan Murray, Honorary Treasurer for the RASC, will be visiting Canada at the end of October. During his trip, he plans to meet with several of our members there.
Here at home in Northumberland, we’ve been fortunate with the weather, especially compared to farms in the south of the UK. Most of the autumn work is up to date. We are still selling off lambs, nearly finished now, and the cattle are being fed straw.
In New Zealand, the weather has been exceptionally wet, resulting in the loss of a significant number of lambs during lambing season. My son, William, who farms there, will have a clearer picture of the total number of lambs born after the lamb marking takes place. Unfortunately, a nearby farmer lost 3,000 lambs due to the extreme weather conditions, largely due to lack of shelter. Meanwhile, near Christchurch, conditions have been so dry that farmers are moving stock to other locations in search of better grazing.
Back at home in the Scottish Borders, we also recently held our local village show, affectionately known as the Yetholm Border Shepherds’ Show. It was a warm and well-attended day, full of social activity and community spirit.
1 comment
Billy Martin
Thankfully we don’t have the extreme weather conditions that New Zealand has had at lambing time.