The Yorkshire Post says: Educating students on sheepdog handling skills

OF ALL the sights and sounds of the Yorkshire countryside, none is more evocative of the farmer's skill than working in partnership with a sheepdog.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th Jun 2018, 07:00 BST

Updated 19th Jun 2018, 18:08 BST

Sheepdogs have an important role to play in rural life.

It is an art honed across the course of centuries, and as relevant today as it has ever been.

High-technology innovation has an  important part to play in modern farming, but on the often forbidding uplands of our county, the old-fashioned bond between handler and dog remains invaluable.

The introduction of courses in sheepdog handling at Askham Bryan College means that the tradition is being passed on to new generations, which is both heartening and an acknowledgement that however much farming evolves and changes, some things endure.

The students who have completed the initial course are full of enthusiasm, and have had their eyes opened to the special role dogs play in farming.

The tradition is in safe new hands, and long may that continue.

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