Elsa Amiss 23 Cornwall
Along with her family, Elsa is a National Trust tenant farmer on the most southerly farm in mainland Britain, Lizard Point, Cornwall. Living and farming in a high tourist area she is happy to try and educate the many visitors that pass nearby the farm on a daily basis. She also has recently taken on a role with Farmlink, a charity delivering farm education to school children in areas of South West England. On farm Elsa is keen to develop the farm’s flock of 150 crossbred ewes and is interested in establishing her own flock of rare and heritage breed sheep, exploring their use within the farm’s own set of unique challenges. Elsa explains: “I’m interested in the use of different sheep breeds here and the difference these might have in the taste of the finished product. We sell lamb direct to our local consumers who would be interested in this – People buy beef by breed, why not lamb and mutton?” On joining the Ambassador programme this year Elsa comments: “I am honoured to be one of the applicants to be selected and can't wait for the opportunity to connect with other young people from a range of backgrounds, interests, and experiences all with the same enthusiasm for the British sheep industry.”
Elsa kept a blog in 2022
March on the most southerly point of mainland Britain has been a busy one with lambing starting, farmers markets ramping up and visitors starting to return to Cornwall. Fortunately the weather has been largely good for outdoor lambing with all our lambs being born out in the field, only coming into the barn for a short period to be recorded on our exciting new records program. The arrival of lambs has bought enormous excitement to the public who walk along the coast path to the Lizard Point. While the bad press about sheep can get all farmers down sometimes, the joy of the public when they see lambs in the field reminds me of the genuine happiness that people feel at the sight of new life in the countryside. Education is vital to turn those happy feelings upon seeing a field of lambs into support for British agriculture and food. We hosted our first school visit of the year this week with 23 two to five-year-olds from the local school. It was a gentle reintroduction to visits post covid, and before almost 200 children visit us in the weeks leading up to Easter. A visit to cuddle lambs and feed ewes handfuls of hay may, on the face if it, have limited value within the nation curriculum - but we are very lucky to have teachers that see beyond those curriculum targets. The opportunity for children to walk to the farm where they can experience learning with all their senses, holding spiky hay and fluffy lambs or smelling the silage and the muck, is something many children no longer have the opportunity to do. Even learning to climb gates, roll down hills or how to rescue your welly when it gets stuck in the mud are learning opportunities, developing life skills such as problem solving, while also learning to respect and love the British countryside. The most important part of school visits for us is to give children the opportunity to see the enthusiasm and dedication that goes into producing their food, and hopefully these experiences will help them make better, more informed decisions about food and the countryside in the future.
End of the year comment: Being part of the group has been an amazing and incredibly fun opportunity. The range of farms, businesses, and speakers we have had the chance to meet has shown us many aspects of the sheep industry. Be it learning about grassland management, from farmers and seed companies, experiencing a live-to-dead day with AHDB and Farmers Fresh, or learning business management and personal development skills, the ambassador programme has broadened my knowledge in all aspects of sheep farming, processing and marketing. Meeting the other ambassadors has also been fantastic. The diversity of knowledge and interest in different aspects of the industry across the group has taught me so much. I have already implemented many of the things I learnt, improving how I select lambs for slaughter and management of herbal leys. A big thank you to NSA. I look forward to being more involved with the association in the future.
Along with her family, Elsa is a National Trust tenant farmer on the most southerly farm in mainland Britain, Lizard Point, Cornwall. Living and farming in a high tourist area she is happy to try and educate the many visitors that pass nearby the farm on a daily basis. She also has recently taken on a role with Farmlink, a charity delivering farm education to school children in areas of South West England. On farm Elsa is keen to develop the farm’s flock of 150 crossbred ewes and is interested in establishing her own flock of rare and heritage breed sheep, exploring their use within the farm’s own set of unique challenges. Elsa explains: “I’m interested in the use of different sheep breeds here and the difference these might have in the taste of the finished product. We sell lamb direct to our local consumers who would be interested in this – People buy beef by breed, why not lamb and mutton?” On joining the Ambassador programme this year Elsa comments: “I am honoured to be one of the applicants to be selected and can't wait for the opportunity to connect with other young people from a range of backgrounds, interests, and experiences all with the same enthusiasm for the British sheep industry.”
Elsa kept a blog in 2022
March on the most southerly point of mainland Britain has been a busy one with lambing starting, farmers markets ramping up and visitors starting to return to Cornwall. Fortunately the weather has been largely good for outdoor lambing with all our lambs being born out in the field, only coming into the barn for a short period to be recorded on our exciting new records program. The arrival of lambs has bought enormous excitement to the public who walk along the coast path to the Lizard Point. While the bad press about sheep can get all farmers down sometimes, the joy of the public when they see lambs in the field reminds me of the genuine happiness that people feel at the sight of new life in the countryside. Education is vital to turn those happy feelings upon seeing a field of lambs into support for British agriculture and food. We hosted our first school visit of the year this week with 23 two to five-year-olds from the local school. It was a gentle reintroduction to visits post covid, and before almost 200 children visit us in the weeks leading up to Easter. A visit to cuddle lambs and feed ewes handfuls of hay may, on the face if it, have limited value within the nation curriculum - but we are very lucky to have teachers that see beyond those curriculum targets. The opportunity for children to walk to the farm where they can experience learning with all their senses, holding spiky hay and fluffy lambs or smelling the silage and the muck, is something many children no longer have the opportunity to do. Even learning to climb gates, roll down hills or how to rescue your welly when it gets stuck in the mud are learning opportunities, developing life skills such as problem solving, while also learning to respect and love the British countryside. The most important part of school visits for us is to give children the opportunity to see the enthusiasm and dedication that goes into producing their food, and hopefully these experiences will help them make better, more informed decisions about food and the countryside in the future.
End of the year comment: Being part of the group has been an amazing and incredibly fun opportunity. The range of farms, businesses, and speakers we have had the chance to meet has shown us many aspects of the sheep industry. Be it learning about grassland management, from farmers and seed companies, experiencing a live-to-dead day with AHDB and Farmers Fresh, or learning business management and personal development skills, the ambassador programme has broadened my knowledge in all aspects of sheep farming, processing and marketing. Meeting the other ambassadors has also been fantastic. The diversity of knowledge and interest in different aspects of the industry across the group has taught me so much. I have already implemented many of the things I learnt, improving how I select lambs for slaughter and management of herbal leys. A big thank you to NSA. I look forward to being more involved with the association in the future.
