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The Year Round: Swaledales to feel the first cut in shearing season
We plan to start sheep shearing at Friars' Hagg next week. Shearing, like everything else, is later on this North Pennines hill farm where the seasons are well behind the lowlands only a few miles away.
Our Swaledale hoggs will be the first to feel the shears. These are yearling sheep losing their wool for the first time.
Ewes with lambs will follow, for after suckling twins their jackets are less ready to part from their skins.
Wool is of so little value these days that it does not pay the cost of clipping. A time there was when a fleece represented a useful proportion of each sheep's annual output but those days are long gone.
All sheep must be gathered from the hills, a time-consuming job and remaining fleeces removed. This includes tidying around the tail, a likely place for fly strike.
Ewes and lambs suffered a bit of a setback in May, when nights were very cold. We even had snow on the tops, seldom experienced at this date here. The grass stopped growing, resulting in loss of milk yield. Warmer weather has brought renewed growth and lambs generally look very well.
We have more geld or empty ewes than usual. Days when humans alternate between an overcoat and shirt sleeves are not good for stock. Nice days with very little wind brought a marked improvement.
We have sold a few cattle, mainly at satisfactory prices, though they were easing a little last week.
Grouse numbers seem good. I hear reports of disease in a few stocks, where preventative measures are being taken.
The Tan Hill Sheep Show on the moors above Reeth was staged on its usual last Thursday in May date.
The weather was favourable at the highest inn in England; a poor day at its 1372 elevation takes some braving. I saw mainly long-established faces rather than new ones at this show which is for Swaledale sheep only.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: West
