Megan Price 20 Hampshire
At just 20, Megan impressed the interview panel with her ability to juggle work and education as she completed her third year of university at Sparsholt studying agriculture. Throughout her studies Megan has strived to gain as much shepherding experience as possible as she works towards her dream of shepherding her own flock, securing a tenancy or being a head shepherd for a sizable flock. At the heart of this will be the very best welfare, as Megan expressed a passion for this during her interview. She says: “There is still work to do on public perception of agriculture, and providing animals with the highest standards of welfare at all times is key to this.”
April/May Update
I started the 2024 lambing season with 950 ewes in Somerset in an outdoor yard, my first experience lambing another flock that isn’t my current employment, and what an amazing experience it was. The system worked by lambing in the yards, penning up, and turning out to pasture once the lambs were a couple days old. I was extremely grateful for the experience, learning a totally new system and giving me heaps of confidence.
I returned back home ready to start our lambing of 1200 ewes, where we were greeted by the delightful weather (not!), but despite that we were getting some big strong lambs! Luckily with the weather starting to dry up, our outdoor drifting system was working much to our advantage! Once the three weeks of lambing was up, we entered the madness of ringing over 3,000 lambs.
With the lambing season over it has been an amazing experience with many highs and lows, but overall, my most educational and rewarding season so far, with a promising flock of lambs ahead of us.
August/September Update
Having had a long drawn-out harvest, it was important that we allowed the time to ensure our lambs are growing and that our ewes are gaining body condition ready for tupping. After weaning the lambs, the ewes have been split into groups regarding BCS, and are either at home being fed concentrates, or grazing away pasture off farm. This allows us to dedicate our herbal lays and stubble turnips to our growing lambs in the hope to sell them straight to slaughter. A yearly outing to Wilton Sheep Fair, resulted in buying Texel and Suffolk tups as well as 155 North Country Mules, and 15 Romneys to experiment with how they will fit into our system.
At just 20, Megan impressed the interview panel with her ability to juggle work and education as she completed her third year of university at Sparsholt studying agriculture. Throughout her studies Megan has strived to gain as much shepherding experience as possible as she works towards her dream of shepherding her own flock, securing a tenancy or being a head shepherd for a sizable flock. At the heart of this will be the very best welfare, as Megan expressed a passion for this during her interview. She says: “There is still work to do on public perception of agriculture, and providing animals with the highest standards of welfare at all times is key to this.”
April/May Update
I started the 2024 lambing season with 950 ewes in Somerset in an outdoor yard, my first experience lambing another flock that isn’t my current employment, and what an amazing experience it was. The system worked by lambing in the yards, penning up, and turning out to pasture once the lambs were a couple days old. I was extremely grateful for the experience, learning a totally new system and giving me heaps of confidence.
I returned back home ready to start our lambing of 1200 ewes, where we were greeted by the delightful weather (not!), but despite that we were getting some big strong lambs! Luckily with the weather starting to dry up, our outdoor drifting system was working much to our advantage! Once the three weeks of lambing was up, we entered the madness of ringing over 3,000 lambs.
With the lambing season over it has been an amazing experience with many highs and lows, but overall, my most educational and rewarding season so far, with a promising flock of lambs ahead of us.
August/September Update
Having had a long drawn-out harvest, it was important that we allowed the time to ensure our lambs are growing and that our ewes are gaining body condition ready for tupping. After weaning the lambs, the ewes have been split into groups regarding BCS, and are either at home being fed concentrates, or grazing away pasture off farm. This allows us to dedicate our herbal lays and stubble turnips to our growing lambs in the hope to sell them straight to slaughter. A yearly outing to Wilton Sheep Fair, resulted in buying Texel and Suffolk tups as well as 155 North Country Mules, and 15 Romneys to experiment with how they will fit into our system.
