LivestockSpeakers at the World Dohne Merino Conference in the Western Cape linked breeding decisions to what consumers pay for: wool's footprint rating, Karoo Lamb's origin, lamb eating quality and better rams for communal flocks.
Livestock2 Broers Dormers' 36.86 kg super lamb fetched R3,000 a kilogram, a national record for a single lamb carcass, while Vredesig Dormers & Suffolk won six of the 12 carcass awards.
LivestockThe agriculture department reports 36 cattle and 3 sheep cases; mild winters may keep the biting midges that spread the virus active beyond the usual April to November risk period.
LivestockAfter foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in Namibia's Karas Region on 23 September, red meat bodies from both countries agreed that sheep and cattle carry different risks and need species-specific import protocols.
The Abattoir Sector Group says the UK has gone from about 2,500 abattoirs to about 200 since the 1970s, and wants small slaughterhouses treated as essential infrastructure.
OpinionIn a Farmers Weekly column, Jess Tilley-Moore, who came to farming at 17 and now has her own Greyface Dartmoor flock, argues the industry must welcome newcomers.
LivestockThe Rare Breeds Survival Trust says 60% of breed societies report members struggling to obtain bluetongue vaccine, with coverage below 20% in some rare breeds, and has asked Defra for smaller packs and vaccine-sharing guidance.
LivestockThe Veterinary Medicines Directorate warns that BTV-3 vaccines are prescription-only and cannot be passed between keepers, after reports of sales on social media, as confirmed bluetongue cases in Great Britain reach 3,338.
LivestockDiarrhoea, or scours, is one of the commonest killers of newborn lambs and kids. South African vets and farmers say clean kraals, colostrum within 12 hours and vaccination before birth are the best defence.
LivestockR-CALF USA has filed a brief in a Section 201 safeguard investigation arguing that lamb imports, almost all from Australia and New Zealand, are seriously injuring US sheep producers, citing a 14.3% rise in imports from 2021 to 2025.
LivestockWith 2,878 bluetongue cases this season against 348 in all of last season, a Devon practice finds around 50% of some 800 tested rams infertile and urges fertility tests before tupping, while a sheep association survey points to strong vaccine demand for 2027.
LivestockWith Namibia's livestock exports suspended after a foot-and-mouth outbreak, South Africa loses a supplier of 15% of its slaughter lambs this year, and red meat producers expect a short price spike.
LivestockMore than 10,000 people watched about 60 sheep driven over Southwark Bridge at the Worshipful Company of Woolmen's annual sheep drive, held to promote sheep farming and wool and to raise money for charity.
