Shepherd’s Toolkit: The EID Details Make the Difference

For Sam McPherson, four key pieces of equipment – his trusty sheepdog, an Alligator mobile sheep handling race, an EID stick reader and a flock management smartphone app – enable him to single-handedly manage the flock of 800 ewes at Sezincote Farms in the Cotswolds.

Sezincote Farms near Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire encompasses 2,000 acres of in-hand land of which a third is put to arable crops, and two-thirds to grassland. Approximately half of the farm’s grassland is permanent pasture, with the other half consisting of temporary white and red clover and chicory leys which are used as cover crops to put nitrogen back into the farm’s organic-certified soils.

The traditional, mixed farm enterprise has historically consisted of a beef herd and arable crops, but now also includes a flock of 800 sheep which provides balance to the farming system which has recently received formal organic certification.

Home Sezincote Farms, North Cotswolds

Sam McPherson, Sezincote Farms:

“EID makes record-keeping much less time-consuming and more accurate compared to a paper-based system. It also makes farm audits much less onerous as all the flock’s records are kept in one place.”

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At a Glance

  • Company: Sezincote Farms
  • Location: Near Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire
  • Herd Sizes: 600 Lleyns and 200 North Country Mules

Summary

Sam uses EID equipment to monitor growth rates and to make informed culling and breeding decisions.
“All the flock’s breeding, movements, and medicine records are saved to the flock management app on my phone or tablet and are automatically backed-up to the Cloud.”

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