NSA Annual General Meeting 2024

Notice is hereby given that the 131st Annual General Meeting of the National Sheep Association will be held on Tuesday 13th August 2024, 2pm at 31 Ballygowan Road, Kells, Ballymena, BT42 3PD (by kind permission of Roger and Hilary Bell) by order of the Trustees.

The AGM will be chaired by Peter Delbridge, NSA Chair, following the agenda that can be downloaded from this page. It will include a pre-recorded message from Lord Inglewood, NSA President. The Trustees Report and Statement of Accounts to year ended 31st December 2023, to be presented at the AGM, can be downloaded from this page. 

If you cannot attend in person, there is the option to join by Zoom, but please be aware NSA cannot guarantee the connection as the event is being held in a farm building and will be reliant on a mobile hotspot for internet connected. If you plan to attend by Zoom, NSA recommends you also complete and submit a proxy form in case the internet fails on the day. If you cannot attend in person or by Zoom, please download a proxy form from this page, complete and return it.

The AGM will be followed by Roger Bell giving an overview of his farm and a presentation by John Gilliland (farmer, climate change strategist and policy expert) before a farm tour with Roger and Hilary (pictured). The farm tour will be following by food and refreshments at 6.30pm.

It is not necessary to register to attend this event in person, but if you plan to help it would help catering plans if you drop an email to kim@nationalsheep.org.uk to confirm. Also please contact Kim to submit apologies and/or proxy forms.

Information about the host farm

Visitors to this year's NSA AGM on Tuesday 13th August will not only hear a roundup of NSA activity but enjoy an insightful visit to hosts Roger and Hilary Bell’s 500 Texel
cross Mule ewe enterprise.
Situated near Kells, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Roger and Hilary’s 160 acre (65ha) farm is known for its efficient grassland management and is one of Northern Ireland’s network of Technology Demonstration Farms, regularly opening its farm gates to allow others to see new technology and innovations in place, encouraging widespread adoption on their own farms.
At the heart of the business is a drive to increase and improve efficiency to maximise
liveweight produced per hectare from both the sheep and beef enterprises. Best management is practiced in all areas using data collection technologies to help achieve this. 
Roger and Hilary’s enthusiasm to implement new technologies suitable to their business
instigated a previous nomination for the Farmers Weekly Farm Innovator award.
Roger comments: “Data informs every decision made on the farm with data collection beginning at tupping time with the use of EID technology to group ewes and assign a ram to that batch.
“At lambing, lambs are tagged at birth and a record is made of weight, sex and date. Maternal characteristics of the dam are also recorded such as lambing ease, mothering ability and milk supply. This information is subsequently used to make informed management decisions around the selection of replacements.”
Grassland management is critical. Grass growth is measured and recorded weekly using a plate meter. Roger adds: “The farm itself is challenging to manage as the land is made up predominantly of heavy soil and in parts runs to 790ft (240m) above sea level. Measures put in place to optimise grass production include soil sampling on a yearly basis allowing soil needs to be met appropriately.”
A robust health plan is also in place. “Ewes are blood tested at least once a year to provide a metabolic profile, which allows any deficiencies to be addressed. Lambs are dosed according to faecal egg count results taken before and after treatment to monitor resistance levels. For us, liver fluke is the main parasite issue on farm and therefore a rigorous programme for fluke treatment is in place,” Roger highlights.
Lambs are weighed regularly throughout the season to ensure they meet optimum market
specification as they go direct to slaughter helping the couple maximise liveweight produced per hectre.
Everyone at NSA is excited to join Roger and Hilary in welcoming visitors to the AGM in August. NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker says: “We are very much looking forward to visiting Roger and Hilary for an insightful event. The farm is a fantastic example of how data can be crucial to move farm businesses forward. We do hope members in Northern Ireland as well as those from mainland Britain can join us. The farm is conveniently located for Belfast airports so why not enjoy a daytrip to come and view this excellent system.”