Countryfile star Adam Henson shared his concerns on his livestock after a ‘terrible’ spell.
Countryfile presenter Adam Henson has had his worries alleviated following a “terrible” spell for some of his animals.
The farming broadcaster provided an update on his lambs after his farm endured a “hideous” drought the previous year.
During one segment in Sunday’s edition of the BBC show, Adam opened by saying: “Improving biodiversity is only one part of the challenge on the farm. We’re also trying to breed livestock that can thrive with fewer inputs.”
He went on to explain: “These are our rams, and last year, we set off with a bit of an experiment, we brought in two new breeds, the Romneys, the white-faced ones, we got two mature rams in there, and they were to breed replacements, so they go on to our yews and we keep their daughters.
“They came from a flock where they’d been concentrating on working out that those lambs need less wormers that you’d put into the gut of the animal to kill the stomach worms. They’re expensive to use but they are also a little bit damaging to the environment,” reports the Express.
“The other rams over there are the Hampshire Downs, and for the Hampshire, it is all about meat production, but for them, last year’s lambs, it was a difficult trial, because we had a terrible drought with very little grass.
“This year, we’ve got to work out whether they’re producing the quality of lamb we need to be able to send into the markets.”
Adam continued by explaining how Hampshire Downs had been introduced to rear lambs that thrive solely on their mother’s milk and grass, eliminating the requirement for manufactured feeds, thereby reducing costs and environmental impact.
Following last year’s challenging drought conditions, Adam and his livestock manager Sam are examining this year’s outcomes.
Adam said to Sam: “Last year, we had that hideous drought, I was feeding hard food to the yews and lambs which is very unusual, it got quite difficult to judge.”
Sam replied: “They really go backwards, it was a tough time, there was nothing we could do.”
He added: “It was a tough time so fingers crossed, we have a fairly stable year weather wise, that would be great, so they’ll thrive.”
Observing some of the flock, Adam noted how one set of twins appeared “tremendous”, while Sam expressed that he was “really impressed”.
“They’ve absolutely grown over the last few weeks,” he remarked, describing the Hampshires as “beautiful to look at and really lovely to work with”.
Adam concluded: “I’m glad they’re looking well, perfect!”
Meanwhile, in another segment of the programme, Adam introduced a new arrival to his farm, an adorable young pony.
“She’s huge!” Adam exclaimed upon first seeing the Suffolk Punch, a rare horse breed.
“Every foal that we can get that’s fit and healthy is very, very valuable to the breed,” he explained.
“She’s got such long legs and she’s only 17 days old!” He added: “Aren’t you beautiful? It’s alright, your mummy is nearly there!”
Adam remarked upon the “beautiful” connection between the mare and her foal, noting: “She seems pretty relaxed,” before revealing the foal’s name as Hera.
He explained: “Hera is a Greek Goddess and lady of protection, so I need to do a bit of work with her, she’s still quite nervous. It’s lovely to have her… little Hera there, she’ll be a superstar.”
Countryfile airs Sunday at 6.15pm on BBC Two and iPlayer.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login