Sion Morgan 28 Scottish Borders
He may be a long way from home, but Sion is making his mark as a shepherd for a large farming enterprise at Galashiels. The opportunity to work with large numbers of sheep in a New Zealand-style system was enough to lure him away from the family farm in Carmarthenshire, Wales. He is in charge of 2,100 ewes on the home farm, plus another 800 on a neighbouring hill estate. “I’m motivated and want to go wherever I can progress the best – be that Scotland, Wales or wherever,” he says. Sion is a keen competitor in sheepdog trials and has quite a following for his dogs and career on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He sees social media as a great network for people working in isolated areas, as well as a tool for promoting agriculture.
Top fact: Sion qualified as an electrician before he decided sheep were his thing. He left his tool box behind to go shearing overseas, leading to a short stint shepherding 45,000 ewes on one of New Zealand’s largest sheep stations.
Sion completed NSA Q&As throughout 2018
March
- Are you planning anything different for this lambing season? I haven't started yet, thankfully with this horrible weather. But we are doing our best to keep feed in front of in-lamb ewes. I am thinking of the other ambassadors lambing at the moment
- What was the biggest surprise for you attending the first NSA Next Generation Ambassador session? That grass was growing in the Bristol area!
- What will be your favourite thing about the clock’s changing on 25th March? Longer days so I can do more in the evenings after work, like train my dogs.
- If you were Prime Minister for a day, what single thing sheep-related thing would you change, and what single non-sheep thing would you change? Sheep related – I would ensure that farming/agriculture was an option to school pupils as a national qualification. Non sheep related – I would try to establish our country's name free from corruption and any sort of extremism.
April
- What was the highlight of lambing this year? (Or highlight so far?) Seeing the good mothering ability of our young ewes.
- How are you getting on with meeting the targets you’ve set yourself as an NSA Next Generation Ambassador? Targets are hard to achieve as the weather has a big part to play, but overall I’m very happy.
- If you could give the general public one fact about sheep farming, what would it be and why? Sheep farming is a fantastic job and very rewarding; you get what you put in.
- The tough spring conditions have caused high lambing losses and stunted grass growth for most places. If a genie offered you more grass growth, more live lambs on the ground or one other wish, which would you chose and why? I’d ask the genie for some sun, as that will help grass grow and help get more live lambs on the ground.
May
- How is your 2018 lamb crop performing so far? Very good! Sun and grass growth has come just at the right time for us. We are happy we didn’t lamb earlier in the year.
- Defra has just closed its ‘Health and Harmony’ consultation on post-Brexit agricultural regulation. Environment, health and welfare were given higher priority in the paper than food production. What are your thoughts on this? I think this is the new reality. We are governed by so many rules and regulations but rewarded through government funding so we probably need to accept this if we are happy to receive them.
- What were you doing on the hottest Bank Holiday Monday on record? Working! Making sure all lambs hitting the ground were all ok. I may have sneaked a beer and ice cream into my quad box, but don’t tell the boss!
June
- What did you learn from the second NSA Next Generation Ambassador session? I learnt a lot at this session about parasite control. Lesley Stubbings was great at explaining and simplifying the worm lifecycle in sheep and the build-up of worm resistant by using incorrect drench and incorrect timing to drench.
- If a bus of NSA members turned up to view your flock today, what would you take them to see (and what would you try and hide)?! I would take them to see the lambs that we have had this year. We were very fortunate with the weather and have a great crop that is growing well. I would stay away from the thistle fields.
- hat is your favourite sheep farming task and your worst task? My favourite task would have to be gathering the hill. Lots of work for the dogs that pushes their boundaries to make them better. My worst would have to be winter feeding, as it’s pretty cold and gets lots of snow up here.
- The average attendance for a FIFA World Cup game is more than 53,000 fans! You’ve got 10 minutes during the half time break for a sheep farming demonstration. What would you show off and why? I would definitely get the dogs on the pitch and do a demonstration.
July
- How are you and your flock coping in the drought conditions? The flock is coping well, surprisingly. Lambs are gaining good DLWG – but the lack of grass for weaning is a worry.
- What was the best take home message from your day at NSA Sheep 2018? Spread your risk and invest in multiple different ideas on your farm.
- What summer agricultural shows are you going to / have you gone to? Which is your favourite and why? Well, of course I have to say the Royal Welsh is my favourite ... because it’s in Wales!
- Tell us about your sheepdogs. I currently have eight dogs – four Huntaways and four collies. Each one has a place in the team and a job to do. I am trialling three collies this year and have got them all placed in the top six this season. Tess got a first open win for me a few weeks ago. I am running her in the Scottish National this year too.
August
- How are you going to feed your stock this winter? Will you have to feed a higher number of concentrates due to the lack of roughage? Will you use fodder crops? The ewes will be kept on a grass rotation for as long as we can keep grass in front of them. Paddocks are divided up to try and utilise every piece of grass available. Because of the dry summer and lack of growth we have direct drilled Red Start and Appin leafy turnip into some of the paddocks to give it some bulk. Once grass runs out the ewes get silage.
- How have you, or will you be preparing for tupping. How will you flush your ewes with so little grass available? Are your tups in yet? We will put the ewes on a grass rotation, giving them the best quality feed available and moving them often, ideally daily, for 10 days before and 10 days after tups go out. The golden 20 days.
- What do you consider the best way to unwind after a long day with the sheep? I unwind by training a sheepdog, but that can often wind me up too!
- What is your favourite lamb dish? I love a lamb roast on a Sunday; it’s got to be the best.
- What do you do on your farm for the environment? Our waterways and wet areas are fenced off here, allowing a place for wildlife to thrive.
September
- Now the nights are drawing in and temperatures are dropping, what (if anything!) are you looking forward to this autumn/winter? I’m not a fan of these short days So am not looking forward to much, I must be honest.
- How many ewes are you putting / have you put to the tup this autumn? Ewe numbers are very similar again this year. Possibly numbers could have increased but more hinds have been introduced to the farm. They’ve increased now to 190 with plans to increase again. This brings different sources of income to the farm so we’re not relying solely on the lamb and cattle trade.
- If you weren’t a sheep farmer what would you be and why? I would probably work for the NSA, as it looks like a good job.
- What is your favourite breed of sheep and why? The Romney cross texel. I’ve worked with them for the previous four years and been really impressed with their performance.
- Never throw away baler twine! What is your best use for this farm essential? Must be for them dodgy gates!
October
- Who is your farming hero? My grandfather, because of all the hard work he has done and still doing.
- What would be your one, best piece of advice for someone looking to enter the world of sheep farming? Try and work for someone who is heading in the direction you’d like to go or has a similar goal to yourself.
- The previous NSA Ambassador session visited British Wool, a timely visit as ‘Wool Week’ falls in October. What surprised or encouraged you about this visit? It was a very exciting visit. I really liked the new entrant scheme they have and think it’s a big help for new entrants and quite encouraging.
- If sheep were not your passion, what other farming enterprise would appeal to you the most? I’m really enjoying working with the deer here at Pirntaton so that is something I would definitely consider.
Final round of questions
- Of the farms you’ve visited during your year as an Ambassador, which would you like to live and work on and why – or, which farmer you have met would you like to work with and why? I would like to live and work on the farm that Martyn Fletcher was working on in Wiltshire. I liked his breed of sheep, his handling facilities and his approach to sheep production.
- What useful piece of advice have you taken away and implemented on your farm since becoming an NSA Next Generation Ambassador? Are you seeing any benefits from this already? I found the farm advice from Marc Jones a big help to fine tune your farming system. Feed budgeting is crucial to knowing your supply and demand.
- What useful piece of advice have you taken away and plan to implement in the next year or two. I haven’t yet implemented this advice but hopefully will be successful in running my own operation when I definitely do this.
- Select an ambassador from team 2018! Where do you see them in 10 years’ time? Rollo Deutsch will be driving around his estate in a Range Rover Sport with the back cut off and replaced with an Ifor Williams canopy!
- 2019 is just around the corner. Will you be making any new year’s resolutions for yourself personally or for your farm / place of work in 2019? To build more equity to get a step closer to getting on the farming ladder.
- Brexit has been the top topic during your first year as an Ambassador. Where do you think the final negotiations will end up and will it be good for UK sheep farmers? I am concerned where the final negotiations will end up but see this as an opportunity for young entrants with the knowledge, time, energy and passion to access land.
He may be a long way from home, but Sion is making his mark as a shepherd for a large farming enterprise at Galashiels. The opportunity to work with large numbers of sheep in a New Zealand-style system was enough to lure him away from the family farm in Carmarthenshire, Wales. He is in charge of 2,100 ewes on the home farm, plus another 800 on a neighbouring hill estate. “I’m motivated and want to go wherever I can progress the best – be that Scotland, Wales or wherever,” he says. Sion is a keen competitor in sheepdog trials and has quite a following for his dogs and career on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He sees social media as a great network for people working in isolated areas, as well as a tool for promoting agriculture.
Top fact: Sion qualified as an electrician before he decided sheep were his thing. He left his tool box behind to go shearing overseas, leading to a short stint shepherding 45,000 ewes on one of New Zealand’s largest sheep stations.
Sion completed NSA Q&As throughout 2018
March
- Are you planning anything different for this lambing season? I haven't started yet, thankfully with this horrible weather. But we are doing our best to keep feed in front of in-lamb ewes. I am thinking of the other ambassadors lambing at the moment
- What was the biggest surprise for you attending the first NSA Next Generation Ambassador session? That grass was growing in the Bristol area!
- What will be your favourite thing about the clock’s changing on 25th March? Longer days so I can do more in the evenings after work, like train my dogs.
- If you were Prime Minister for a day, what single thing sheep-related thing would you change, and what single non-sheep thing would you change? Sheep related – I would ensure that farming/agriculture was an option to school pupils as a national qualification. Non sheep related – I would try to establish our country's name free from corruption and any sort of extremism.
April
- What was the highlight of lambing this year? (Or highlight so far?) Seeing the good mothering ability of our young ewes.
- How are you getting on with meeting the targets you’ve set yourself as an NSA Next Generation Ambassador? Targets are hard to achieve as the weather has a big part to play, but overall I’m very happy.
- If you could give the general public one fact about sheep farming, what would it be and why? Sheep farming is a fantastic job and very rewarding; you get what you put in.
- The tough spring conditions have caused high lambing losses and stunted grass growth for most places. If a genie offered you more grass growth, more live lambs on the ground or one other wish, which would you chose and why? I’d ask the genie for some sun, as that will help grass grow and help get more live lambs on the ground.
May
- How is your 2018 lamb crop performing so far? Very good! Sun and grass growth has come just at the right time for us. We are happy we didn’t lamb earlier in the year.
- Defra has just closed its ‘Health and Harmony’ consultation on post-Brexit agricultural regulation. Environment, health and welfare were given higher priority in the paper than food production. What are your thoughts on this? I think this is the new reality. We are governed by so many rules and regulations but rewarded through government funding so we probably need to accept this if we are happy to receive them.
- What were you doing on the hottest Bank Holiday Monday on record? Working! Making sure all lambs hitting the ground were all ok. I may have sneaked a beer and ice cream into my quad box, but don’t tell the boss!
June
- What did you learn from the second NSA Next Generation Ambassador session? I learnt a lot at this session about parasite control. Lesley Stubbings was great at explaining and simplifying the worm lifecycle in sheep and the build-up of worm resistant by using incorrect drench and incorrect timing to drench.
- If a bus of NSA members turned up to view your flock today, what would you take them to see (and what would you try and hide)?! I would take them to see the lambs that we have had this year. We were very fortunate with the weather and have a great crop that is growing well. I would stay away from the thistle fields.
- hat is your favourite sheep farming task and your worst task? My favourite task would have to be gathering the hill. Lots of work for the dogs that pushes their boundaries to make them better. My worst would have to be winter feeding, as it’s pretty cold and gets lots of snow up here.
- The average attendance for a FIFA World Cup game is more than 53,000 fans! You’ve got 10 minutes during the half time break for a sheep farming demonstration. What would you show off and why? I would definitely get the dogs on the pitch and do a demonstration.
July
- How are you and your flock coping in the drought conditions? The flock is coping well, surprisingly. Lambs are gaining good DLWG – but the lack of grass for weaning is a worry.
- What was the best take home message from your day at NSA Sheep 2018? Spread your risk and invest in multiple different ideas on your farm.
- What summer agricultural shows are you going to / have you gone to? Which is your favourite and why? Well, of course I have to say the Royal Welsh is my favourite ... because it’s in Wales!
- Tell us about your sheepdogs. I currently have eight dogs – four Huntaways and four collies. Each one has a place in the team and a job to do. I am trialling three collies this year and have got them all placed in the top six this season. Tess got a first open win for me a few weeks ago. I am running her in the Scottish National this year too.
August
- How are you going to feed your stock this winter? Will you have to feed a higher number of concentrates due to the lack of roughage? Will you use fodder crops? The ewes will be kept on a grass rotation for as long as we can keep grass in front of them. Paddocks are divided up to try and utilise every piece of grass available. Because of the dry summer and lack of growth we have direct drilled Red Start and Appin leafy turnip into some of the paddocks to give it some bulk. Once grass runs out the ewes get silage.
- How have you, or will you be preparing for tupping. How will you flush your ewes with so little grass available? Are your tups in yet? We will put the ewes on a grass rotation, giving them the best quality feed available and moving them often, ideally daily, for 10 days before and 10 days after tups go out. The golden 20 days.
- What do you consider the best way to unwind after a long day with the sheep? I unwind by training a sheepdog, but that can often wind me up too!
- What is your favourite lamb dish? I love a lamb roast on a Sunday; it’s got to be the best.
- What do you do on your farm for the environment? Our waterways and wet areas are fenced off here, allowing a place for wildlife to thrive.
September
- Now the nights are drawing in and temperatures are dropping, what (if anything!) are you looking forward to this autumn/winter? I’m not a fan of these short days So am not looking forward to much, I must be honest.
- How many ewes are you putting / have you put to the tup this autumn? Ewe numbers are very similar again this year. Possibly numbers could have increased but more hinds have been introduced to the farm. They’ve increased now to 190 with plans to increase again. This brings different sources of income to the farm so we’re not relying solely on the lamb and cattle trade.
- If you weren’t a sheep farmer what would you be and why? I would probably work for the NSA, as it looks like a good job.
- What is your favourite breed of sheep and why? The Romney cross texel. I’ve worked with them for the previous four years and been really impressed with their performance.
- Never throw away baler twine! What is your best use for this farm essential? Must be for them dodgy gates!
October
- Who is your farming hero? My grandfather, because of all the hard work he has done and still doing.
- What would be your one, best piece of advice for someone looking to enter the world of sheep farming? Try and work for someone who is heading in the direction you’d like to go or has a similar goal to yourself.
- The previous NSA Ambassador session visited British Wool, a timely visit as ‘Wool Week’ falls in October. What surprised or encouraged you about this visit? It was a very exciting visit. I really liked the new entrant scheme they have and think it’s a big help for new entrants and quite encouraging.
- If sheep were not your passion, what other farming enterprise would appeal to you the most? I’m really enjoying working with the deer here at Pirntaton so that is something I would definitely consider.
Final round of questions
- Of the farms you’ve visited during your year as an Ambassador, which would you like to live and work on and why – or, which farmer you have met would you like to work with and why? I would like to live and work on the farm that Martyn Fletcher was working on in Wiltshire. I liked his breed of sheep, his handling facilities and his approach to sheep production.
- What useful piece of advice have you taken away and implemented on your farm since becoming an NSA Next Generation Ambassador? Are you seeing any benefits from this already? I found the farm advice from Marc Jones a big help to fine tune your farming system. Feed budgeting is crucial to knowing your supply and demand.
- What useful piece of advice have you taken away and plan to implement in the next year or two. I haven’t yet implemented this advice but hopefully will be successful in running my own operation when I definitely do this.
- Select an ambassador from team 2018! Where do you see them in 10 years’ time? Rollo Deutsch will be driving around his estate in a Range Rover Sport with the back cut off and replaced with an Ifor Williams canopy!
- 2019 is just around the corner. Will you be making any new year’s resolutions for yourself personally or for your farm / place of work in 2019? To build more equity to get a step closer to getting on the farming ladder.
- Brexit has been the top topic during your first year as an Ambassador. Where do you think the final negotiations will end up and will it be good for UK sheep farmers? I am concerned where the final negotiations will end up but see this as an opportunity for young entrants with the knowledge, time, energy and passion to access land.
