Top grades for lambs and students

Walford & North Shropshire College Agriculture students have benefitted from the superb opportunity of undertaking an EBLEX (English Beef and Lamb Executive) sponsored Live To Dead Sheep Selection and Classification course. EBLEX is the organisation for the English Beef and Sheep Industry, an industry sponsored organisation promoting profitability and sustainability in the sector. It is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

Students on the two year extended level 3 Diploma in Agriculture course, based at the Walford Campus, study a wide range of agricultural production systems and make extensive use of Walford farm to get hands on experience. As part of this course Agriculture tutor Andrew Clough arranged for nine lambs from the College flock to be classified live by the students, assessing both the confirmation and finish (The flesh, fat and overall shape.) of the lambs. Experts from EBLEX then handled the lambs prior to slaughter and discussed the key points of classification with the students.

The students then accompanied the lambs to Daysdrove Abattoir in Bishops Castle to witness the slaughtering and processing of the lamb. Once on the hook the lambs were again assessed and classified by the students providing them with a superb opportunity to compare and contrast what they now found with their previous assessment of the lambs.

Agricultural Student, Owen Davies said of the experience, Its been very interesting and helpful to learn how to classify sheep properly. I can now use this knowledge on my farm which has 600 sheep. It was also very interesting to see the carcass at the slaughter house because this was something I hadnt seen before.

This type of exercise allows the students to experience directly all that is involved in judging animals by weight and handling rather than just by eye. It is essential that the students learn to carry out these assessments accurately since they have wide ranging implications concerned with such things as breeding and feeding of the animals, together with the important issue of ensuring the animal meets the specifications required by the consumer.

Jon Parry director of Walford said The students had been involved in all aspects of the lambs production, performing 24 hour farm duties during the lambing period in March ensuring all lambs were fit healthy and well cared for. During regular livestock practical lessons on Walford farm, the students had carried out all key seasonal tasks, so they really do appreciate everything that is required to produce quality finished lamb.

Clive Brown senior regional manger for EBLEX, and an ex Walford student commented It really is good to work with Walford & North Shropshire College to help the next generation of sheep producers develop the skills required to select animals for specific market requirements and ensure they meet the target specification.

There is still time to apply for the Agriculture course at Walford and North Shropshire College. For more information, or to apply, please contact our admissions team by phoning 01691 688080 or visit us online at www.wnsc.ac.uk

• Walford and North Shropshire College is a tertiary College with campuses located across rural Shropshire including Oswestry, Walford, Shipley, Burford and Wem
• The Walford campus is home to the respected land-based provision, where students can study a range of courses including Agriculture, Countryside Management, Animal care or Equine.
• EBLEX is the organisation for English Beef & Sheep Industry, an industry sponsored organisation promoting profitability and sustainability in the sector