NSA offers further webinars to keep sheep farmers updated

With the use of webinars increasing amongst all sectors of the agricultural industry significantly during the Covid-19 lockdown, the National Sheep Association (NSA) has added to its diary of virtual events with further online delivery sessions set to help sheep farmers in a variety of areas over the coming months.

NSA has so far delivered webinars on Iceberg diseases in sheep alongside the Moredun Research Institute and on how to get started in the sheep industry with independent experts and the Tenant Farmers Association, receiving excellent feedback for the value of the information shared with those attending. It is hoped the next webinars are equally popular as the voice for the UK sheep sector joins with others from the industry to deliver webinars covering topics including Contagious Ovine Digital Dermatitis (CODD), Sustainable parasite control and grassland management. NSA Next Generation is also planning further webinars aimed specifically at the younger generation of sheep farmers.

Next up, NSA will be joined by the UK’s leading expert on CODD, Jennifer Duncan, Senior Lecturer at Liverpool University, specialist sheep vet Liz Nabb who is currently completing a PhD on the sheep foot rot and NSA Chairman Bryan Griffiths and wife Liz who have worked hard to try and eradicate lameness issues from their Devon farm. The CODD webinar takes place on Wednesday 25^th June at 7.30pm. Interested parties can register here to join the free online event.

NSA will then be teaming up once again with the Moredun Institute as well as Elanco Animal Health to discuss sustainable parasite control on Wednesday 1^st July at 8.30am with the webinar repeated again on Wednesday 5^th August at the same time. The webinars are designed to provide farmers with a practical overview of parasite challenges, covering: the wider impact of worms and liver fluke on flock and herd productivity and profitability; the importance of monitoring and testing; practical application on how to make a difference on farm. To join the webinar on Wednesday 1^st July, click here. Registrations for the August date will open soon.

The third webinar offering sheep farmers advice this July will see NSA join with the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) for the first time to deliver a webinar on the GrassCheck UK project. The webinar will feature Dr Debbie McConnell from Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute (AFBI), who will be talking through the GrassCheck GB project and how farmers can be using the information to plan their grazing and conserved forage during this tricky year caused by the weather, and Helen Mathieu from Germinal who will highlight options to boost forage production. The grassland webinar takes place on Wednesday 8^thJuly at 7.30pm. Register to join this free webinar here.

NSA is pleased to be able to offer webinars to assist sheep farmers across the UK and beyond, who would usually have the opportunity to discuss such topics at agricultural events, including NSA’s own sheep events each summer. NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker says: “The popularity of the webinar has no doubt been one of the positive outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic as the sheep sector (as well as many others) recognises the possibility to partake in valuable knowledge exchange from the comfort and safety of their own homes. NSA is proud to join up with so many leading bodies and companies to deliver, what we hope, will be truly worthwhile webinars.”

Further information on all of the webinars, including some additional upcoming online events that are still in process of being finalised on the NSA website, www.nationalsheep.org.uk.