News

FARMER WINS MOORLAND ASSOCIATION ROSE BOWL TROPHY FOR THE SECOND TIME

2nd October, 2008

Stuart Wood, of Wethercote Farm, near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, has won for the second time in a row the coveted Moorland Association Rose Bowl Trophy. The award for the best pen of ewes hefted to the North York Moors was presented at the famous Fadmoor Sheep Sales by Game Keeper of the Year, George Thompson.

Mr Wood is a tenant farmer with 1,000 Swaledale ewes on Mexborough Estates’ Bilsdale West Moor, which is managed in tandem for red grouse.

Said George Winn-Darley, Moorland Association Committee Member for the North York Moors: “Sheep grazing and grouse moor management go hand in hand to keep our internationally important heather moorlands thriving. Without sheep, this rare habitat would head for disaster, both economically and environmentally and yet there is an alarming decline in hefted upland flocks. The Moorland Association Rose Bowl Trophy is awarded to encourage continued good grazing practice and Mr Wood’s husbandry is an excellent example of how managing sheep numbers, grazing patterns and health aspects can produce quality ewes, whilst helping to protect the precious heather moorland on which they survive.”



Said winner Mr Wood: “We are delighted to have won this trophy again. We liaise closely with the Estate moorland gamekeepers to ensure that, between us, we manage the habitat so that the red grouse and the sheep get the best out of it. In addition we protect the sheep from ticks and diseases through dipping and vaccination which has a knock-on benefit to susceptible moorland birds - such as curlew and grouse - that thrive in this managed landscape. In these days of area payments it is crucial to get the very best out of every sheep and we want to maintain a viable business to pass on to our children.”

For further press information please contact Amanda Anderson, Anderson PR Ltd on: 0845 458 9786 / 07979 851123

Notes to Editors:
The Moorland Association represents the moorland owners and managers of 750,000 acres of the remaining 800,000 acres of heather moorland in England and Wales. Its aim is to halt the loss of heather moorland – a habitat under threat and rarer than rainforest. The primary interest that has secured the future of heather is the management for red grouse through careful rotational burning and grazing. www.moorlandassociation.org

The North York Moors represents the largest area of unbroken heather moorland in England and is designated SSSI, SAC and SPA for habitat and wildlife – the highest national and European levels of protection possible.

Bilsdale West Moor is SSSI, SAC, SPA and under Countryside Stewardship Scheme. The Estate has invested in bracken control, drystone walling and fencing to help with sheep management and contributes to a double Louping Ill vaccination programme. The Estate is also considering further habitat enhancements to bring white ground back to heather via the new Higher Level Scheme.

4,473 of Scot and Swaledale breeding sheep, gimmer and wether lambs were entered for the sale specifically for moorland sheep, marking a 26% increase from last year.
www.cundalls.co.uk

Picture Caption
© Moorland Association
Game Keeper of the Year, George Thompson from Spaunton Moor, presented the Moorland Association Rose Bowl Trophy for the best pen of ewes hefted on the North York Moors to Mr J. S. Wood of Wethercote Farm, Bilsdale at Fadmoor Sheep Sales 2008.