NSA and For Flock's Sake
NSA supports the ‘For Flock’s Sake’ project, the aim of which is demonstrate how a collaborative, community-led approach to managing scab can reduce the incidence of the disease.
The initiative is being run in three very focused regions in England reflecting current hotspots of disease. NSA is coordinating the South West region (lot 3), with a focus on Devon and Cornwall, while the Farmer Network is coordinating North West (lot 1) and Adas the Midlands (lot 2).
The outcomes are intended to shape guidance to be communicated on a wider, national scale in the future – and given its role throughout the UK, NSA is ideally placed to extrapolate learnings from the project throughout England, as well as linking it with and comparing it to existing initiatives in the devolved UK nations.
To fulfil the objective, the project will work with clusters of contiguous farms to identify the level of disease, biosecurity measures and the understanding of the options for effectively managing scab.
Sean Riches , NSA Policy & Technical Officer , says: “Sheep scab continues to be a health and economic problem with significant costs to the UK sheep industry. Outbreaks are often caused through actions outside the control of farmers, which is why co-ordinated control programmes need to be implemented.
“The specific localised recruitment means in no way is it a national eradication programme. But the partnership approach, with strong execution, gives it the potential to be a platform for further wider-scale initiatives. And it will hopefully lead to even greater things in the future, which is why NSA was so keen to be involved.”
The two-year ‘For Flock’s Sake’ project is being led by Moredun Research Institute’s Stewart Burgess, independent sheep consultant Lesley Stubbings, and Bristol University’s Richard Wall . It is a Defra-funded initiative via the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) .
Useful links
- Contact the Farmer Network (coordinators of the project in North West England) on 01768 868615 or admin@thefarmernetwork.co.uk.
- Contact Kate Phillips or Adas (coordinators of the project in the Midlands) on katephillips58@aol.com or karen.wheeler@adas.co.uk.
- Speak to Sean Riches at NSA (coordinators of the project in South West England) on 07922 069148 or sean@nationalsheep.org.uk.
- Find details of the project launch on the Moredun website.
- Wach the Moredun ‘Stop the Creeps on Sheep video on You Tube.
- Read a Moredun sheep scab booklet here.
- Download a Moredun sustainable parasite control booklet here.