LOOKING ahead to lambing, the National Sheep Association has opened its popular Lambing List service for the 2020/2021 season.
The NSA Lambing List connects sheep farming members of the NSA who need assistance at lambing time with agricultural and veterinary students looking for a work experience placement as part of their studies, providing the perfect solution for both parties at what can be a very busy time of year.
Despite some uncertainties surrounding Covid-19 rules, it is expected that it will still be permissible for farmers to invite students on to farm to support work at lambing time, but to ensure both NSA’s farming members and students using the Lambing List are kept as Covid safe as possible, new guidelines have been made available to users of the service to download from the NSA Next Generation website.
NSA communications officer, Katie James said: “The NSA Lambing List has become the trusted method for many of our members to source extra lambing help over recent years and we are therefore pleased to be able to offer this service once again this year. It’s a very simple but effective process – we collate a list of NSA members looking for help at lambing time and produce an advert so students can approach them directly to ask for a placement.
“NSA does recognise there may be some concerns inviting students on to farm as additional help this coming lambing season and hopes that our updated guidelines can offer some support with this, however, if members have any further concerns we would encourage them to contact us at NSA to discuss the issue.”
Sheep farmers wanting to advertise on the list must complete a short application form at www.nationalsheep.org.uk/lambing-list providing brief details of their lambing system and the experience and position they can offer, including the provision of accommodation, meals and other details. Adverts are listed in the order they are submitted, so NSA members are encouraged to get adverts in as early as possible.
Sheep farmers who are interested in using the list but are not yet NSA members can find a membership application form at www.nationalsheep.org.uk/membership.
The service could not be simpler for students looking for a placement, with adverts split into regions to highlight positions available in different areas of the UK and overseas. The list can be found via the lambing and work experience pages at on the Next Generation web pages.
Ms James continued: “This service is just one of the many membership benefits NSA offers as well as supporting agriculture’s next generation and the allied veterinary industry. Young people accessing the NSA Lambing List on the NSA Next Generation website will also find a host of online resources, packed with useful information on NSA’s work to support young people.”
For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday’s issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk
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