:00:09. > :00:16.It may be the last show, but we have still got plenty in store.
:00:17. > :00:20.Including. Sheep behaving badly. Dogs behaving beautifully. And lots
:00:21. > :00:57.of these! This is Lambing Live - isn't it? !
:00:58. > :01:04.Welcome back to the Dykes family farm here in the Scottish Borders.
:01:05. > :01:09.I'm in the main lambing shed and this is a programme called Lambing
:01:10. > :01:15.Live and Lambing Live it certainly is. I'm going to go and join Hamish
:01:16. > :01:22.Dykes who is delivering a lamb as I speak. Hamish, have you got a
:01:23. > :01:27.slightly complicated one here? It's coming with one leg back. The
:01:28. > :01:33.positions I gave you last night. Yes. Most to have viewers will never
:01:34. > :01:39.forget them? That's right. I've pushed it back in and gone back. We
:01:40. > :01:44.had a leg forward and a head forward but one leg tucked back. Very good,
:01:45. > :01:49.yes. Perfect. So you have rearranged it and there it is. Pushed it all
:01:50. > :01:54.back in and reached further in to flip the leg forward and here we
:01:55. > :01:58.have it. Aw, that's a lovely little lamb. I'm just check, she's
:01:59. > :02:04.expecting twins. No spot on her back. Will you lamb that second one
:02:05. > :02:09.now or will you just leave her be and see how she's doing? We'll put
:02:10. > :02:12.her in her pen and she'll probably lamb the second herself but we'll
:02:13. > :02:17.sirenly keep an eye on her and see it comes out OK. Shall we leave her
:02:18. > :02:22.in peace to bond with her lamb? Yes. You may remember on last night's
:02:23. > :02:28.programme that I had a go at delivering a lamb live on air. I
:02:29. > :02:37.don't recommend it! Well done. Head out. Come on. That's
:02:38. > :02:43.quite a big lamb. That is quite a big lamb. Quite a big lamb. This was
:02:44. > :02:54.needing to come out as well I think. Yes. There we go.
:02:55. > :02:58.And here we are. This is the ewe. There are two lambs now. She was
:02:59. > :03:03.expecting twins. I'm guessing that might be the one that I delivered?
:03:04. > :03:08.I'm not quite sure. It's not looking too worse for wear? It's a big lamb
:03:09. > :03:13.when you see it and a big woolly coat which sometimes makes it harder
:03:14. > :03:19.to come out as well. You can see why it needed assistance. Yes. Just
:03:20. > :03:23.behind this ewe, we have got another ewe in the advanced stages of
:03:24. > :03:30.labour. It just never calms down, does it? Not these last two days
:03:31. > :03:37.anyway. It was really busy last night. We were on air, we had about
:03:38. > :03:41.seven ewes all in the fairly advanced stages of labour when we
:03:42. > :03:46.came off air. Now, usually, you would give yourself a break, but you
:03:47. > :03:52.didn't want to leave your night lamber on his own, so the whole
:03:53. > :04:03.family were in here lending a hand and Susie proved her shepherd elsing
:04:04. > :04:07.skills last night. Absolutely. She's obviously doing this beautifully. I
:04:08. > :04:13.remember when I first came here and met Gillian. She shook my hand and
:04:14. > :04:17.said, you have small hands, that'll make you useful. Where you have a
:04:18. > :04:22.birth when you have to assist, can it be helpful to have somebody like
:04:23. > :04:26.Susie on hand as it were almost literally? Yes, particularly with
:04:27. > :04:30.the younger and smaller sheep because the pelvis is so much
:04:31. > :04:34.smaller, so if you have a big hand it's hard to get in and sort out the
:04:35. > :04:40.muddle-ups, so small hands are vital at times for lambing. We have been
:04:41. > :04:45.following Susie's progress since filming with you in September, her
:04:46. > :04:48.first months full-time on the farm. Are you proud of her? Absolutely.
:04:49. > :04:54.It's great. Having her working at home on the farm, it feels so much
:04:55. > :04:59.more just like family life. You had to say that of course because we are
:05:00. > :05:03.now going to go to the nursery where Susie is with Adam.
:05:04. > :05:07.Remind the viewers of what the nursery pen is all about? Well, once
:05:08. > :05:12.the ewes and lambs leave the pens in the lambing shed, they come on up
:05:13. > :05:16.here and it's just a chance for them to be in a big open space with their
:05:17. > :05:20.mothers and learn to find them before we ship them on out into a
:05:21. > :05:24.field, we need to make sure they recognise their mums' call and that
:05:25. > :05:28.they can find them in a crowd. When the lambs get to be two or three
:05:29. > :05:32.days old, they start to play don't they? They start bouncing about,
:05:33. > :05:34.it's cute. We sent our cameras out and were following lots of lambs
:05:35. > :06:17.skipping in the spring. You could waste a lot of time
:06:18. > :06:20.watching that, couldn't you? Bit too cute, aren't they? I suppose that
:06:21. > :06:24.playing is them learning thousand run as a flock and exercise their
:06:25. > :06:28.muscles? Yes, and just generally getting used to springing around and
:06:29. > :06:31.getting out of the way of humans and sheepdogs and anything else that
:06:32. > :06:34.comes after them. There was a little lamb on Wednesday evening that
:06:35. > :06:38.Hamish had to deliver. It was quite a tricky birth. A lot of the viewers
:06:39. > :06:42.were concerned about that lamb, but it did very well, ended up in the
:06:43. > :06:47.nursery, then was taken out to the field. Susie, you took it out there.
:06:48. > :06:53.Let's take a look at this. So you load them up in the trailer?
:06:54. > :06:57.Get them on the trailer that,'s right. Usually apprehensive about
:06:58. > :07:00.standing on the ramp which is aluminium, so just persuade them on
:07:01. > :07:06.there and zoom them out to the field. A mile or so down the road
:07:07. > :07:11.into a nice, Freshfield. That's quite a big field isn't it, 20 or so
:07:12. > :07:17.acres? Yes, plenty of space for them to not get muddled up again. Plenty
:07:18. > :07:20.of field? Yes, give them time to find their mum and watch them
:07:21. > :07:25.trotting up in their happy teams. Marvellous. The little 29 is the
:07:26. > :07:32.lamb the viewers named Rocky and it's happy and healthy out in the
:07:33. > :07:36.field now with his mum? Yes, we'll check him tomorrow when he gets his
:07:37. > :07:40.breakfast. Kate is in the main barn and there are more lambs on the way?
:07:41. > :07:46.Not just on the way but actually here, Adam. We have just delivered
:07:47. > :07:50.Or are helping deliver this enormous, enormous single lamb. You
:07:51. > :07:55.can see this tiny one beneath it. This is a wet adoption, Hamish? Yes,
:07:56. > :08:01.she's a single and we knew she was lambing, so we just gave her that
:08:02. > :08:07.wee lamb. It's a bit of a mismatch there, but she spent a few minutes
:08:08. > :08:11.with that lamb before her big lamb came out so she had almost bonded
:08:12. > :08:16.with that and now she'll get up and lick her new lamb. So we put both of
:08:17. > :08:21.these together in front of her as if she'd given birth to both of them.
:08:22. > :08:26.You can tell which one got all the pies! And then the idea would be
:08:27. > :08:32.that she would totally accept this lamb and feed it as if she'd given
:08:33. > :08:36.birth to it? Yes. That is huge. That is enormous. Look. This lamb was
:08:37. > :08:42.born today. Look at the difference in size. We did have somebody e-mail
:08:43. > :08:46.in saying are distinguishes always identical, now I know that these
:08:47. > :08:51.aren't actual twins, but you can just see the difference in lambs.
:08:52. > :08:57.That's amazing. We'll let her get on with the all-important job of
:08:58. > :09:01.bonding with her new little family. Farmers breed sheep for all sorts of
:09:02. > :09:06.different reasons. The Dykes breed some of their sheep and the lambs
:09:07. > :09:10.that are born this season and they may stay on the farm to become
:09:11. > :09:15.replacement breeding stock and some may go for meat.
:09:16. > :09:20.Earlier in the year, I joined Hamish and Susie to learn about the
:09:21. > :09:25.complicated system of condition scoring.
:09:26. > :09:32.Sheep farming is a year round business with its own natural cycle.
:09:33. > :09:37.Lambs are born, raised and sold before they reach a year old.
:09:38. > :09:42.With Christmas approaching, it's time for Hamish to sell the lambs he
:09:43. > :09:49.has left, ready to start again. Can you look at them and go, I know
:09:50. > :09:53.that they are basically right? They really can deceive you. I like to
:09:54. > :09:56.weigh them every time and it givious a chance to put a hand on their back
:09:57. > :10:02.and to see hue they are doing anyway. In Britain, we prefer our
:10:03. > :10:07.lamb a certain size and shape. And this means that, like so many
:10:08. > :10:12.businesses, Hamish has targets to meet.
:10:13. > :10:19.42 and a half. I think that one can go. Once slaughtered, a butchered
:10:20. > :10:23.lamb will weigh half as much. Supermarkets want a consistent dead
:10:24. > :10:29.weighted of 21 kilos to make lamb affordable for their customers.
:10:30. > :10:37.So this one you wouldn't send? It's only weighing 40 kilos and really we
:10:38. > :10:45.are looking for 44, 45 kilos. I'm going to guess she's 42. Pf
:10:46. > :10:51.44. I was going to say more. I never took a guess!
:10:52. > :11:04.But it's not just weight that Hamish is selecting for. The back is very
:11:05. > :11:07.knobbly. That's the technical term. Every animal needs the right
:11:08. > :11:13.combination of fat and muscle. A good place to feel is the tail to
:11:14. > :11:17.get different, I suppose like ladies, they carry the fat in
:11:18. > :11:20.different places, it's a good indicator of how much excess is on
:11:21. > :11:31.her and there really isn't a fat tail there. It's quite Sa... Bowny
:11:32. > :11:36.tail. It is bone boney. -- boney tail. We'll keep hold of this one?
:11:37. > :11:43.Yes. The average price paid for a lamb is ?80. Too fat or too thin and
:11:44. > :11:47.it will make less money. It's well covered. I would they
:11:48. > :11:51.hasn't got a high nobble factor. What do you think? Good to go.
:11:52. > :11:54.The abattoir will score each lamb with a system of numbers and
:11:55. > :11:59.letters. Because each lamb is electronically
:12:00. > :12:06.tagged, Hamish can track how well he's doing. Its tag number is 5304
:12:07. > :12:11.and its weight is 43 kilos. OK.
:12:12. > :12:16.I am going to stick my neck on the line. You are going to grade it? I'm
:12:17. > :12:20.going to say it's a 3 H. So this is the grading that the abattoir give
:12:21. > :12:24.the carcass? Yes. 3 H is just getting on the heavy
:12:25. > :12:30.side. If you go over to 4, you might start to get penalised. OK.
:12:31. > :12:36.So you are going to send that one? The price Hamish gets paid will
:12:37. > :12:41.depend on grade and weight. 3 L. 3 L as well. Sorting the lambs
:12:42. > :12:52.means he can sell each one at the right time.
:12:53. > :12:57.Right. Happy to go. It's quite a key moment really in
:12:58. > :13:02.your farming year isn't it, seeing the lambs leave? Yes. I mean, you
:13:03. > :13:07.are looking a little sad? I think it's the thought of what is ahead of
:13:08. > :13:13.them, you know, they're gayly trundling along and this is the end
:13:14. > :13:17.of their life which is sad, but that's why we've bred them and
:13:18. > :13:21.that's the cycle. You do have to become a bit removed from the
:13:22. > :13:28.emotions of what's happening with them and, you know, you take pride
:13:29. > :13:33.in what you've produced. It's a product that goes to feed the
:13:34. > :13:37.nation, feed the world, so you have to become removed from the emotions.
:13:38. > :13:43.I feel more pride in hoping that we get a good price and the lambs grade
:13:44. > :13:59.well. Yes.
:14:00. > :14:05.You have been busy, you two? Yes. What we like to promise our viewers
:14:06. > :14:10.is Lambing Live, all the experience of the lambing shed without them
:14:11. > :14:18.having to get covered in placenta! We should check on our ewe and her
:14:19. > :14:26.adopted twin. She seems to be look looking after both of them, it seems
:14:27. > :14:29.to be going OK? She had the adopted lamb before her own so she's bonded
:14:30. > :14:33.already with that. There, the little adopted one looking for the teet
:14:34. > :14:37.which is a great sign? Yes, absolutely. It seems like one big
:14:38. > :14:43.and one little, a business of a mismatch? I didn't realise that that
:14:44. > :14:47.one would be quite as big. Enormous? I suppose if you put the weight of
:14:48. > :14:52.them both together, it would be a good average. Will it be a big
:14:53. > :14:56.problem because that one's so much bigger, will the little one not get
:14:57. > :14:59.its fair share? The big one will need more so it's good that the
:15:00. > :15:05.little one is little. So it will ehave been it out? A big one,
:15:06. > :15:10.another big one may have been too much for her. I want to pick up on
:15:11. > :15:15.the final thought of the last film and seeing the lambs going off to
:15:16. > :15:19.the abattoir and, you know, Susie feeling, having mixed emotions
:15:20. > :15:26.really. I think it's something that people who don't have livestock find
:15:27. > :15:33.very hard to grasp. We've seen you this week, you and your whole family
:15:34. > :15:37.putting so much work into it and how much love and care you lavish on to
:15:38. > :15:39.your livestock and yet ultimately, they are going to go for slaughter.
:15:40. > :15:54.How do you square that up? We know what we are producing the
:15:55. > :15:58.livestock for. If people want to eat meat, which everybody does, then you
:15:59. > :16:03.need to produce the livestock. As long as they are getting killed in a
:16:04. > :16:09.humane and orderly fashion, then we are doing our job. And you do the
:16:10. > :16:15.same thing, don't you Adam? You summed it up beautifully in that
:16:16. > :16:18.film. An effort that goes into producing farming products. Sheep
:16:19. > :16:22.farmers are producing lamb for the table. You do that to be proud of
:16:23. > :16:26.what you produce. You do it very, very well. To get that perfect lamb
:16:27. > :16:32.for the table - of course they need feeding. One of the main feeds of
:16:33. > :16:35.sheep is grass. A while ago I went off to find out about the science of
:16:36. > :16:44.producing grass. After a long, wet winter, the grass
:16:45. > :16:49.has been slow to get growing. Like most farmers I am having to provide
:16:50. > :16:53.extra feed for the sheep on my farm. As spring approaches, I need to look
:16:54. > :17:00.ahead at what food will be available for my ewes and their lambs. Grass
:17:01. > :17:06.master Charlie Morgan has come to offer advice. This is in permanent
:17:07. > :17:11.pasture. It has been down to grass for 20 years. We are in an
:17:12. > :17:18.environment scheme. We cannot put any nitrogen on it. Nitrogen is the
:17:19. > :17:24.important part. Without adequate nitrogen you will not grow much of a
:17:25. > :17:30.yield. Grass needs nitrogen to grow and sheep need grass. Their stomachs
:17:31. > :17:36.turn it into protein. The better the grass, the better the meat. Looking
:17:37. > :17:43.across it there is mark and all sorts of undesirables in here. We
:17:44. > :17:47.would look for 50% rye grass. That is the best for sheep production.
:17:48. > :17:53.When you look down you imagine just grass. There are stacks of different
:17:54. > :17:58.species in here. In here we could probably find 10-15 different grass
:17:59. > :18:05.species. The vast majority is rye grass. We have clover here and that
:18:06. > :18:14.is red clover. The back of the leaf is hairy. Red clover has a amount of
:18:15. > :18:19.nitrogen. This is the indigenous type which will not give you enough
:18:20. > :18:24.yield to make a big difference. I got excited then and now you are
:18:25. > :18:28.taking it away from me. Vy habit of that sort of thing. -- I have a
:18:29. > :18:32.habit of that sort of thing. And this grass? That does not yield much
:18:33. > :18:37.more than you see now. In the environmental scheme I am in, this
:18:38. > :18:41.is delivering all sorts of flowers and thing, but commercially for the
:18:42. > :18:45.sheep it is not providing a good food. Vehementally somebody would
:18:46. > :18:49.say it is very pretty. That is fine. If you are in the business of trying
:18:50. > :18:56.to produce meat then it is not necessarily what you want.
:18:57. > :19:00.There are more than 160 spee siss of dwrass -- species of grass in the
:19:01. > :19:04.UK. Only seven are useful in agriculture. It is rye grasses that
:19:05. > :19:10.are the most important for livestock. Charlie has found some in
:19:11. > :19:16.my pasture. I am worried there's not enough to go around. These ewes are
:19:17. > :19:23.about to give birth now. This will not deliver good enough for them,
:19:24. > :19:28.will it? The ideal for them is four centimetres. Sheep are fussy about
:19:29. > :19:33.their grass. To long and they cannot reach the richest part. Too short
:19:34. > :19:39.anded they go hungry. This is four. This is the bear minimum for these
:19:40. > :19:47.animals now. You will need an area to carry a lot of ewes. We are low
:19:48. > :19:51.stock, four to five per hectare. On good grass what would you look at?
:19:52. > :19:55.12. More than double. As a farmer, we should be growing grass as a
:19:56. > :20:02.specific crop and doing it much better. Grass is another crop. We
:20:03. > :20:08.tend to take it for granted. It has far greater potential than we know.
:20:09. > :20:15.To learn more about this potential, I have come to Wales. Here
:20:16. > :20:19.scientists are breeding sheep grasses that will make breeding more
:20:20. > :20:28.efficient. Wow! That is pretty futuristic,
:20:29. > :20:34.isn't it? It is. Alan is one of the scientists leading the way in plant
:20:35. > :20:41.genetics. What we have got is a fully automated conditions which
:20:42. > :20:45.control the light, watering, the fertiliser applications. Each of
:20:46. > :20:49.these tabs has a different variety of grass in it? It is like looking
:20:50. > :20:53.at an individual human rather than looking at the whole population.
:20:54. > :20:56.This enables us to identify the genes that cause different things in
:20:57. > :21:14.the plant. These plants have now come from the
:21:15. > :21:19.grass house behind us and are going into these scanning chambers here.
:21:20. > :21:25.-- glasshouse. You'll have a laser in there so you
:21:26. > :21:33.can measure the actual growth, the height, the density. Ultraviolet: We
:21:34. > :21:40.have infra-red so you can pressure the water coming off the leaves. You
:21:41. > :21:43.can measure that. We can even here do something which has never been
:21:44. > :21:48.done before, which is look at the roots of plants, so it is a complex
:21:49. > :21:49.series of chambers. It is extraordinary! I have never seen
:21:50. > :22:00.anything like it. Hundreds of measurements are taken
:22:01. > :22:04.from each individual plant. The scientists can then begin to unravel
:22:05. > :22:09.which genes are responsible for how the plant grows and select for the
:22:10. > :22:14.traits which are beneficial for farmers.
:22:15. > :22:18.The seeds they produce are then planted outside in hundreds of plots
:22:19. > :22:27.to see what the grass actually does under real conditions.
:22:28. > :22:32.Is this the exciting bit? Yes, no doubt. This is the culmination of
:22:33. > :22:37.all of that work and here you see if it works. It is incredible seeing
:22:38. > :22:41.the heights and colours and different leaf. There are some with
:22:42. > :22:44.more growth at the moment and they don't perform so well later in the
:22:45. > :22:50.year. You come to these here, which are some of our varieties now. These
:22:51. > :22:54.are high-sugar grasses. That was the first new character we added into
:22:55. > :23:01.the grass. That is not actually to feed the animal, it feeds the bugs
:23:02. > :23:06.and make sure the nitrogen is available to the animals, so you get
:23:07. > :23:14.better of weight gain and milk, that sort of thing. In the future looking
:23:15. > :23:18.at a more digestible fibre, and an energy source for human health and
:23:19. > :23:22.even looking at other things, like perhaps vitamins - all these things
:23:23. > :23:27.are to be added into the grass, into the mix. So really the science you
:23:28. > :23:32.are working in on the grass is about the meat we eat? Yes, very much so.
:23:33. > :23:38.We can look at all these components and put together the supergrasses
:23:39. > :23:42.that you farmers require. Sheep are really what they eat. If we want to
:23:43. > :23:47.produce good-quality meat for the table we have to go back to grass
:23:48. > :23:53.roots. As a farmer, I need to think as much about my fields as I do my
:23:54. > :23:58.animals. Absolutely a fascinating film.
:23:59. > :24:03.Fascinating to think of grass we take for granted as a crop that
:24:04. > :24:08.will... Well treated and well grown will do a good job for your sheep.
:24:09. > :24:14.Someone else doing a good job is Hamish. This is ridiculous. We are
:24:15. > :24:19.getting birth after birth. This ewe was showing signs of labour before
:24:20. > :24:26.we came on air and then she seemed to stop. Have you identified the
:24:27. > :24:29.problem. It is a breach. If you can remember what a breach is, perhaps
:24:30. > :24:35.you can demonstrate the breach position. This is not going to be
:24:36. > :24:39.elegant. A breach lamb is coming out backwards. What Hamish is feeling at
:24:40. > :24:46.the moment is that with a tail. So, what you have to do -- so, what do
:24:47. > :24:50.you have to do? I pushed the tail in and got the back legs to come out.
:24:51. > :24:56.It is harder with back legs - they are pointing the wrong way. I have
:24:57. > :24:59.flicked the back legs. They are both pointing backwards now. Then we have
:25:00. > :25:07.to try and pull the hips up through the pelvis. If you didn't intervene
:25:08. > :25:15.with a breach birth, can a lamb be born naturally, backwards? It does
:25:16. > :25:22.happen, but not very often. Another enormous lamb! My goodness!
:25:23. > :25:27.Breach isn't a good way for a lap tob come. They are better to come
:25:28. > :25:35.forward -- lamb to come. They are better to come forward.
:25:36. > :25:40.She's expecting twins. Do you have any reason to believe
:25:41. > :25:45.that the other one will also be breach? Is that what tend to happen?
:25:46. > :25:51.There's no reason really. Occasionally you get all the lambs
:25:52. > :25:56.coming the wrong way. Quite often the rest are correct. You can leave
:25:57. > :26:00.her for the time being? I am happy to leave her and see what happens
:26:01. > :26:07.with the next one. A lot of people have e-mailed us to ask whether
:26:08. > :26:11.sheep will lamb outside? We have seen that you bring the ewes in
:26:12. > :26:14.during the evening, but you put them out in the field next to the barn
:26:15. > :26:19.every morning. Will they lamb outside? Absolutely. And viewers
:26:20. > :26:23.will think this is an indoor system, but if the day is longer than the
:26:24. > :26:33.night, then predom nanltly it is an outside system. I -- predominantly
:26:34. > :26:37.it is an outside system. Just to thoroughly answer your question and
:26:38. > :26:41.prove Hamish's point, our cameras were out and about in the field and
:26:42. > :26:47.witnessed this wonderful moment. This must be, for you, Hamish, the
:26:48. > :26:53.ideal scenario, is it? That is perfect and just happened to notice
:26:54. > :26:59.that is a first-time lamber. She is a two-year-old sheep, but did not
:27:00. > :27:02.lamb last year. There she is get out two good lambs all by herself and no
:27:03. > :27:06.problems. When they are out in the field, do you have to check on them
:27:07. > :27:12.in the same way that you check on them when they are here in the shed?
:27:13. > :27:18.We do, either myself, Gillian or Susie. We are in the fields when we
:27:19. > :27:22.think it is necessary. The field is visible from here. You can see
:27:23. > :27:26.problems from a distance. I went out with Gillian first thing to do one
:27:27. > :27:31.of those checks and Gillian spotted something - this is basically
:27:32. > :27:36.pinching going on, isn't it? Can you explain what is happening? If you
:27:37. > :27:41.have got a ewe that's had her lambs and there's another one on the point
:27:42. > :27:45.of lambing, they sometimes get confused and try and pinch the
:27:46. > :27:52.newly-born lappens from another sheep. Gillian asked many eto pick
:27:53. > :27:57.up the -- lambs from another sheep. Gillian asked me to pick up the
:27:58. > :28:03.lambs. She thinks these lambs are hers. She used the lambs as a trap
:28:04. > :28:08.for the ewe, so she could catch the ewe that wasn't the mum. Put it in
:28:09. > :28:14.the trailer and take it away and then leave the lambs with their
:28:15. > :28:20.rightful mother. Why does it matter sf if you want things to -- why does
:28:21. > :28:25.it matter? If you want things to happen as naturally as possible? If
:28:26. > :28:29.they are coaxed away from their real mother, if away for too long,
:28:30. > :28:32.there's quite a fair chance that the mother will not take them back when
:28:33. > :28:39.you reunite them. Then you end up with a ewe who has three lambs. Or
:28:40. > :28:46.four lambs. So it is necessary just to make sure that the ewe that's had
:28:47. > :28:50.her lambs sticks with her lambs. You have to be on top of that quickly.
:28:51. > :28:53.The lovely thing at this time of year is seeing lambs out in the
:28:54. > :28:57.field and whether they are born here in the shed or out there,
:28:58. > :29:05.ultimately, that is where they will be. On beautiful, spring time, sunny
:29:06. > :29:07.mornings, there's no wonderful sight than seeing lambs dancing for the
:29:08. > :29:51.sheer joy of it. I was going to say our little lamb -
:29:52. > :30:00.our giant lamb! Looks very Perky and fine? Yes. Quite happy. Quite a big
:30:01. > :30:04.lamb. Coming backwards is not a very favourable way for the lambs to
:30:05. > :30:08.come, it doesn't help with the rib cage, but quite happy with that one.
:30:09. > :30:12.So far, not showing any signs of giving birth to the second one, so
:30:13. > :30:17.that will hopefully just happen naturally over the course of the
:30:18. > :30:22.next 20 minutes, half hour or so? Absolutely, yes. We are quite used
:30:23. > :30:26.to having our thunder stolen by lambs and it is a programme called
:30:27. > :30:29.Lambing Live and so lambs should be the stars or perhaps Hamish the
:30:30. > :30:35.farmer should be the star. But in this case, none of that is true. We
:30:36. > :30:40.have been completely trumped by two characters called Doug and Jess, so
:30:41. > :30:52.by overwhelming popular demand, here is a homage to Hamish's dogs.
:30:53. > :31:00.I like these doings. I've formed a relationship with them. Jess, she's
:31:01. > :31:07.going to be eight years old and Doug is one of her pups, so he's
:31:08. > :31:12.three-and-a-half years old -- dogs. They just absolutely worship the
:31:13. > :31:17.ground Hamish walks on. The feeling is mutual, I'm sure, though he'll
:31:18. > :31:25.not admit it. You wouldn't have thought that the
:31:26. > :31:29.noise in the field would be a good thing but it has its uses. They can
:31:30. > :31:36.use their bark to help move the sheep. I found at lambing time that
:31:37. > :31:41.moving the lambs from a distance, you know, 20 or 30 yards back, using
:31:42. > :31:48.the bark instead of having the dog close up has been quite useful.
:31:49. > :31:58.They are also very good at catching individual sheep.
:31:59. > :32:03.As soon as they know which sheep it is you want singled out, they bark
:32:04. > :32:09.and bark and bark instead of herding it. The sheep becomes mesmerize and
:32:10. > :32:20.pretty much stands still. That's do it. Good dogs.
:32:21. > :32:25.We have to get this close to the sheep. We struggle to get them
:32:26. > :32:29.moving because this is what they do when you get too close, they turn
:32:30. > :32:33.around and start stamping their feet and that alerts the lambs, so the
:32:34. > :32:36.lambs start splitting so it would be a slow walk from the field to here,
:32:37. > :32:41.but because we can get all the sheep moving from 1010 yards back, the
:32:42. > :32:45.sheep are less stressed because you are not as close to them and they
:32:46. > :32:49.are moving down the field of their own free will -- 100 yards back. He
:32:50. > :32:54.would be on his own without them. Yes. It wouldn't be the same. It
:32:55. > :33:00.would be difficult catch ago sheep without them. The farm just wouldn't
:33:01. > :33:09.be the farm without them. And here are Jess and Doug. Doug
:33:10. > :33:12.obviously demonstrating the breech position far better than I was able
:33:13. > :33:18.to. They are wonderful, wonderful dogs, Hamish. Can you remind us what
:33:19. > :33:22.breed are they? These are New Zealand hunters. Were they bred
:33:23. > :33:29.specifically for work? Yes, absolutely. When farming was started
:33:30. > :33:34.in New Zealand, they came to the conclusion that the collie dog
:33:35. > :33:37.wasn't best suited to the high numbers of sheep they work with. So
:33:38. > :33:41.they started to develop different breeds off the back of the collie
:33:42. > :33:47.and introduced a dog with a bark which I think was the blood hunt and
:33:48. > :33:52.there are other breeds in this -- hound. The bark helped move the
:33:53. > :33:56.sheep. It may not be appropriate to ask this in this environment, but
:33:57. > :34:02.can we have a demonstration of the bark or will that upset the ewes?
:34:03. > :34:08.They are used to it now. Speak up Doug. Speak. Good lad. Good boy.
:34:09. > :34:13.He's much more vocal than Jess isn't he? Jess realises there's no need
:34:14. > :34:18.for her to bark when he's making the noise, but she does speak on command
:34:19. > :34:25.but she just chooses not to when he is. When making the racket. The
:34:26. > :34:29.border collie uses its eye to move the sheep and mayor mayorises them,
:34:30. > :34:34.but when you have hundreds of sheep, you need the sheep to know a dog is
:34:35. > :34:39.about and that's how to do it, with a bark like that. The collie is used
:34:40. > :34:45.as a guide doing, you know, a heading dog, and the hunter is for
:34:46. > :34:49.the power. You are constantly on the search for dogs, Adam, I know. You
:34:50. > :34:53.have got a great working dog at the moment. Would you ever be tempted by
:34:54. > :34:58.one of those? They are lovely but probably not for me. I was told they
:34:59. > :35:06.bark the moment they are out of the kennel until the moment they get in.
:35:07. > :35:11.You have got a Welsh sheep dog? Which I adore, but I have been very,
:35:12. > :35:15.very taken with these. So people again who would love a dog like this
:35:16. > :35:20.but don't have any sheep, can they make good pets? They can make good
:35:21. > :35:24.pets even if you didn't have sheep, but only if you had plenty of space
:35:25. > :35:29.for them because they are outside working dogs and need a lot of
:35:30. > :35:32.space, especially the bigger ones. That's what they thrive on. You are
:35:33. > :35:37.lovely and I don't mind having my thunder stolen by you at all. Earl
:35:38. > :35:41.earlier, we discover what had Hamish had to do to work out whether his
:35:42. > :35:45.lambs were ready for market. Later, the next stage is them going to the
:35:46. > :35:49.abattoir and I joined Hamish and Susie back in September to find out
:35:50. > :35:52.whether the lambs that Hamish had chosen really did make the grade as
:35:53. > :36:00.far as the supermarkets were concerned.
:36:01. > :36:06.It's 5. 30am and we have headed north to abouter denshire. This
:36:07. > :36:10.abattoir processes and packages meat for Morrisons supermarkets right
:36:11. > :36:14.across the country. In Britain, we are picky customers, liking our lamb
:36:15. > :36:18.with the right amount of fat and meat. Hamish and Susie have come
:36:19. > :36:32.here today to see if their lambs are making the grade. -- Aberdeenshire.
:36:33. > :36:37.Richard Henderson is one of the supermarket's livestock buyers. Have
:36:38. > :36:41.you made a good purchase? The carcass is in good shape, good
:36:42. > :36:45.confirmation, very happy with what I see. It's his job to work with
:36:46. > :36:50.farmers like Hamish to source the best lamb possible.
:36:51. > :36:54.Can you tell me what this chap is actually doing? He's putting in
:36:55. > :36:59.confirmation and a fat cover score on the lamb. Literally just doing
:37:00. > :37:03.that by looking at it? In six seconds, yes. How much a farmer like
:37:04. > :37:07.Hamish gets paid depends on the weight and grade of each lamb.
:37:08. > :37:12.I'm very, very impressed with what you are doing? We have such a good
:37:13. > :37:17.system with high quality meat coming through, so it makes life easier.
:37:18. > :37:22.He's real think middle man between the abattoir and the Fareham making
:37:23. > :37:27.sure that the farmer gets the right price for his lambs.
:37:28. > :37:31.What What is extraordinary about watching him is that he gives each
:37:32. > :37:46.carcass a squeeze and a poke and that's it.
:37:47. > :37:49.Hamish is very much independent. Supermarkets like Morrisons are
:37:50. > :37:58.looking for a consistent product to sell to their customers.
:37:59. > :38:04.What seems amazing to me is how pretty much identical they all look.
:38:05. > :38:08.There is differences. Here we have a good comparison. This one is an
:38:09. > :38:14.absolutely superb lamb, just about perfect. He's got a body full of
:38:15. > :38:23.flesh and muscle, a good wide back and good wide shoulder. Next to him
:38:24. > :38:28.here is a poorer specimen, he's narrow, longer in body which means
:38:29. > :38:33.he's Lenner and he's narrow on the shoulder. There wouldn't be as much
:38:34. > :38:38.meat on a lamb like this compared to that one, that one will yield more
:38:39. > :38:43.and that's why we pay more for this than this one -- more leaner.
:38:44. > :38:48.Each carcass has been given a bewildering series of numbers and
:38:49. > :38:53.letters by the graders. This will determine the
:38:54. > :38:56.all-important price per kilo. Hamish graded these lambs before
:38:57. > :39:05.they left the farm. But is he supplying the product he
:39:06. > :39:08.thinks he is. Slightly leaner. Not so much fat cover. Not a huge
:39:09. > :39:13.difference here. Not a massive difference here.
:39:14. > :39:19.A fatness score of 3 is the target for supermarket lamb.
:39:20. > :39:21.The important factor for me is being able to grade the fatness level at
:39:22. > :39:24.home because that is the key for whether it's too good or not good
:39:25. > :39:28.enough. Hamish not only knows his flock,
:39:29. > :39:36.he's producing good lambs for the table.
:39:37. > :39:40.R 3 H. Absolutely spot on. U 3 H. He's good at this isn't he? Practise
:39:41. > :39:44.makes perfect. I've got a lot to learn!
:39:45. > :39:49.As margins get tighter, selling the right grade of lambs at the right
:39:50. > :39:54.time will mean a big difference to Hamish's payday. Sounds like Hamish
:39:55. > :39:59.might be ready to do you out of a job, five out of six, not bad? !
:40:00. > :40:04.Very good. Testament to how interested he is in what he does,
:40:05. > :40:08.he's got five out of six, exactly right grades. Average 20.9 kilos,
:40:09. > :40:20.target weight 21, so very happy. I think the really illuminating
:40:21. > :40:24.thing for me about, first of all being with Hamish and Susie and
:40:25. > :40:30.learning about that condition scoring, about finding out whether a
:40:31. > :40:34.lamb is ready to go or not, and then going and seeing the next part of
:40:35. > :40:38.the process and just house picky it is. You know, you slightly think,
:40:39. > :40:43.you get a sheep, bung nit the field, hope it gets fat and send it off to
:40:44. > :40:47.slaughter, but I mean it's a real science isn't it? It really is quite
:40:48. > :40:51.an art, yes. Some farmers are very, very good at it themselves. Some
:40:52. > :40:56.might use agent who is come in to help them out. Which use a guy at
:40:57. > :40:59.home sometimes to help my livestock manager select lambs to make sure we
:41:00. > :41:03.are getting it right to deliver the right thing to the abattoir. But are
:41:04. > :41:08.you basically bending to consumer pressure? Shouldn't you, as farmers,
:41:09. > :41:12.actually be saying, these are our lambs, you are jolly lucky to have
:41:13. > :41:18.them and you kind of get what you are given? Should you be bending to
:41:19. > :41:22.this pressure? Well, I think that they want a consistency and
:41:23. > :41:26.continuity of supply and there'ses a strict grid of what you supply and
:41:27. > :41:29.you get paid according to that. There are lots of different flavours
:41:30. > :41:34.and different tastes and breeds and shapes and sizes and perhaps the
:41:35. > :41:37.consumer often Baines the supermarket but it's ourselves that
:41:38. > :41:41.have that choice and if you want something different, we should ask
:41:42. > :41:46.for it. The other thing that fascinates me is that it feels like
:41:47. > :41:51.the price is basically dictated, you know, again, by the supermarkets.
:41:52. > :41:55.How much, in a year like this year particularly for people in the South
:41:56. > :41:57.West, you know, it's been a terribly wet winter, grass has been slow to
:41:58. > :42:03.come through, last year with all that snow which was so devastating
:42:04. > :42:07.for farmers, is that reflected in ultimately the price? Do farmers get
:42:08. > :42:11.more because they've had to shell out more for food, you know, all
:42:12. > :42:15.that kind of thing? I really wish they did but that is not the case at
:42:16. > :42:19.all. Labour prices can go up, rent, feed, then we can get struck by
:42:20. > :42:23.inclement weather and those sorts of things. It can affect the
:42:24. > :42:26.profitability of the business and the lamb prices are where they are
:42:27. > :42:31.and they can be after ex-bid cheap imports too. The consumer in this
:42:32. > :42:35.country will only pay a certain price for lamb and if it gets too
:42:36. > :42:39.high we buy in lamb from New Zealand and other countries sometimes. It's
:42:40. > :42:47.difficult and only the very good sheep farm Kerrs make a profit out
:42:48. > :42:53.of farm farming sheep - farmers can make a profit out of farming sheep.
:42:54. > :42:56.I mean you can think, I have got the nutrition right and the right land
:42:57. > :43:00.and you still don't know year on year whether you are going to be
:43:01. > :43:04.able to make a living out of it? Farming is a roller coaster and you
:43:05. > :43:08.have to live with those things. But you have got to do your very best.
:43:09. > :43:12.Breed the right sheep, your Husbandry and the way you look after
:43:13. > :43:17.them has to be spot on. You have to get your markets right and be on top
:43:18. > :43:20.of your business. We have the tightest legislation. The best way
:43:21. > :43:24.we look after our staff, waste and energy and all those things, you
:43:25. > :43:29.know. So I would encourage people to support the British farmer and buy
:43:30. > :43:32.British lamb. So if viewers have like what had they have seen this
:43:33. > :43:38.week, if they have appreciated what the Dykes do and other farmers in
:43:39. > :43:43.this country do, the west twice show that appreciation is buy British? It
:43:44. > :43:47.is and it's a good plug for British farmers, but sheep are the view,
:43:48. > :43:51.they are the landscape, so we go at it so hard to try and make a really
:43:52. > :43:54.good job of farming and sheeped farming is very tough. So yes, if
:43:55. > :43:57.you want to support that view and the British sheep farmer, buy
:43:58. > :43:59.British lamb. There you are! You heard it from
:44:00. > :44:09.him! Now, a few of you have been
:44:10. > :44:13.e-mailing in to find out how my badge badger face Welsh rams have
:44:14. > :44:19.been getting on. We saw earlier on in the week that the year old sheep
:44:20. > :44:23.hogs scanned quite well and earlier this week, I went out into the
:44:24. > :44:25.fields with Hamish to see if there was any evidence that the rams
:44:26. > :44:43.really had done a good job. All the ones that look really good!
:44:44. > :44:50.I would say there's definitely a bit of Badger in this one. A nice ewe
:44:51. > :44:56.lamb and you can see that sort of little bit of ginger in the fleece
:44:57. > :45:05.and quite often they will come out quite gingery, the pure-bred Badger
:45:06. > :45:11.lambs and this is her brother. I mean, look at the fleece on that -
:45:12. > :45:17.it is much tighter curls. It looks more like a blue-faced Leicester. It
:45:18. > :45:22.has taken some of its mums genes. One of the things that is so
:45:23. > :45:31.exciting about lambing time is playing a part in it, I suppose. You
:45:32. > :45:36.know, rams I bred have now come up here to Hamish's farm and it's given
:45:37. > :45:43.me that feeling that I always hope to get after the very first series
:45:44. > :45:49.of Lambing Live. Seeing these lambs just makes me realise how far I've
:45:50. > :45:54.come, I suppose and they are good lambs. I hope Hamish is not
:45:55. > :46:01.disappointed. Maybe he'll sell them all as soon as I've gone. I am in
:46:02. > :46:10.the pen with Rosy here. This is one of your favourites here, isn't it?
:46:11. > :46:18.Grab a little lappen. -- lamb. I will bring this one two. Come on!
:46:19. > :46:27.Bring it over here. Show me how you know whether it's got a full tummy
:46:28. > :46:34.or not. This one is quite full. He's quite good. I'm not finished with
:46:35. > :46:42.you! Is this one of your favourite spots? Yeah. Do you like getting in
:46:43. > :46:50.with the pet lambs? Yeah. Do you get attached to them? I do, don't I? You
:46:51. > :46:57.enjoy helping out on the farm today. Earlier today the cameras followed
:46:58. > :47:03.you and your brother lambing a sheep. Let's take a look at that.
:47:04. > :47:13.Keep pulling, down that way together! That's it. Well done.
:47:14. > :47:27.Gi nor mouse! You did - a good job there.
:47:28. > :47:36.It was big! What was that word your brother said? Mumckled!
:47:37. > :47:47.What does it mean? Really big. What is this one? It is a black/blue face
:47:48. > :47:55.faced Leicester. I have a mate called Neil. He saw this and wanted
:47:56. > :48:01.me to take it home for him! Tell me a little bit more about being on the
:48:02. > :48:05.farm. How good fun is it? It is actually really good fun. I just
:48:06. > :48:12.wouldn't feel right if I was in the city, so... I love being a farmer.
:48:13. > :48:14.Well, thank you. That is lovely. Let's go over to the main barn and
:48:15. > :48:23.see how Kate is getting on. Thank you. I am just having a
:48:24. > :48:34.check-up on some of the ewes that lambed earlier. This is the ewe that
:48:35. > :48:41.lambed. Both are up and both are suckling. Moments ago the ewe that
:48:42. > :48:48.had the breach birth has given birth entirely naturally and unaided to
:48:49. > :48:53.her second lamb. So all looking very good in here. As Adam said a little
:48:54. > :49:00.bit earlier, farming is a tough business, with few financial rewards
:49:01. > :49:07.and even fewer days off. As Susie has discovered n the first few
:49:08. > :49:09.months in her time as a full-time farmer, it is a very special way of
:49:10. > :49:21.life. This farm is where we live and work.
:49:22. > :49:26.It's our family home and our business.
:49:27. > :49:32.John and Kate have spent 50 years making the farm everything it is
:49:33. > :49:38.today. My aim has always been to leave the world a better place thn
:49:39. > :49:44.you found it. That's a big idea, but any way, so long as you leave
:49:45. > :49:49.something, that's the main thing. We are very fortunate. OK, it is a hill
:49:50. > :49:52.farm and it is cold and it can be wet, but just to be living in the
:49:53. > :50:07.country, it is wonderful. Now it is down to Hamish to continue
:50:08. > :50:11.their good work. There is quite a bit of pressure.
:50:12. > :50:13.You have to live by the decisions you make and some of the decisions
:50:14. > :50:25.are quite important. He has to look after the farm for
:50:26. > :50:30.the future. If I can make a good job of what I'm
:50:31. > :50:34.doing in the time I'm here and then give either or both of the children
:50:35. > :50:39.the opportunity to carry on something after I've gone, then good
:50:40. > :50:47.and well. Six months ago I left my cosy
:50:48. > :50:54.9am-5pm to work full-time on the farm. 3. 20pm, the bus will be at
:50:55. > :51:00.the road-end in two minutes. I don't think I will ever think I have spent
:51:01. > :51:04.too much time with the children. I would reject not having spent enough
:51:05. > :51:08.time with them. They grow up so fast. It is really good to be home.
:51:09. > :51:28.Hello! Right, come on! Working on the farm
:51:29. > :51:39.means that Hamish is now my new boss. Get behind them all!
:51:40. > :51:44.It's not easy! Sheep can be fickle animals, at times. Susie - the gate!
:51:45. > :51:57.Stay behind them all. I am sure when Hamish watches me
:51:58. > :52:03.doing something, he'll think, don't do it like this, you do it like
:52:04. > :52:11.that! Everyone has to work things out for themselves. Ultimately I
:52:12. > :52:17.will do it the way he does it. "You don't do it like that! Come by,
:52:18. > :52:22.woman! " I am still learning but I know I
:52:23. > :52:28.have made the right choice. I feel more connected to the family
:52:29. > :52:32.now, no doubt about it. Part of that team.
:52:33. > :52:38.It is nice. Not just the person who runs in and out and puts the dinner
:52:39. > :52:44.on the table and hangs out the washing.
:52:45. > :52:51.Farming is not easy, but it is incredibly rewarding.
:52:52. > :53:00.If I am honest, I have always wanted to do this, so the opportunity was
:53:01. > :53:06.here and it just all made sense. It just makes you feel good.
:53:07. > :53:12.Something so simple, yet so pleasurable about it. Seeing the
:53:13. > :53:17.sheep look well, cared for, happy - it just looks fantastic and it is my
:53:18. > :53:24.favourite spot out here. I will take a minute to enjoy it! It is lovely!
:53:25. > :53:39.As a family, this is where we belong.
:53:40. > :53:47.That was a lovely film. Now, John, I have the great privilege of
:53:48. > :53:51.succeeding the farm Tennessee from my dad, who is well known in the
:53:52. > :53:56.farming industry as you are. Hamish and I have had a hard act to follow.
:53:57. > :54:01.How did you make that transition work so well? It just evolved over
:54:02. > :54:06.the years and Hamish took more responsibility and took a lot of the
:54:07. > :54:12.stress away from me. I was very pleased about that. It is a lot
:54:13. > :54:19.about family values, isn't it? Quite unique in the farming industry. We
:54:20. > :54:23.are immensely proud of our sons and families and we hope they will be as
:54:24. > :54:29.happy with their children and grandchildren as we are. You said, I
:54:30. > :54:34.think, Hamish, earlier this week that taking on a farm, you never own
:54:35. > :54:38.a farm, really - you are the caretaker for the time you are here.
:54:39. > :54:43.Well n the scheme of things if you think of the number of people on
:54:44. > :54:47.this farm alone over the last few centuries, we are just a mere blip
:54:48. > :54:50.in a matter of time, so it is a short space of time we are here and
:54:51. > :54:56.we want to make the best while we are here. Susie, we have been
:54:57. > :55:01.sharing your journey over the past few months. Any regret? Do you sit
:55:02. > :55:06.in the blienldsing snow, as you are -- blinding snow, as you are
:55:07. > :55:12.battling your way through thinking, you wish you were in that nice, warm
:55:13. > :55:16.shop? No regrets. What about you, do you think you'll be the next
:55:17. > :55:26.generation of Dykes on this farm? Yes. I think you should be. What
:55:27. > :55:31.about your brother, will he be along to help you? He can be a bit of a
:55:32. > :55:34.bore, but... We've had a fantastic time here. Just look at some of our
:55:35. > :55:46.highlights. The truck has arrived.
:55:47. > :55:56.Look at them! What do you think goes on in there?
:55:57. > :56:07.Run VT! Lamb Lambing Live is back. That one
:56:08. > :56:12.lying down there against the wall. She is well on. In fact the water
:56:13. > :56:18.bag has just... Popped out. As you look around the shed now, it looks
:56:19. > :56:23.like chaos. It is like some mad scientist, as if we are going to go
:56:24. > :56:34.and conduct an experiment or something.
:56:35. > :56:40.Our first Lambing Live lamb. They are all together. It is
:56:41. > :56:47.slippery. It is nerve-racking delivering a lamb on telly. She's
:56:48. > :56:56.incredibly enthusiastic, that Humble, isn't she? She certainly is!
:56:57. > :57:16.Missed it! And if we open i... . Surrounded by
:57:17. > :57:21.lambs. We don't know what to do with ourselves! Adorable!
:57:22. > :57:41.I will talk about castration now, so watch it!
:57:42. > :57:48.They've had a ring around their tail and tesales. The last thing they --
:57:49. > :57:55.testical, the last thing they are thinking about is a ring... I am
:57:56. > :58:01.quite tempted to get down there! If you can tell them what is on
:58:02. > :58:06.tomorrow's show! What do you think of that? Spray cans cost a lot of
:58:07. > :58:11.money. We are Scottish, and we cannot be having that either!
:58:12. > :58:16.It has been a long day! Well, it really has been a joy and a
:58:17. > :58:20.privilege and thank you so much for letting us on to your farm. It has
:58:21. > :58:27.been fantastic! It has. Thank you to all the sheep. Thank you for
:58:28. > :58:33.watching and this has been Lambing Live. A very good night to you.