Sheep showering serves Lewis well

MANY readers will have met Richard and Beverley Ward when they visited Cragg Top, a former AHDB Beef and Lamb monitor farm.
But they may not have come across their son, Lewis.
The self-employed agricultural worker spends much of his time working on other units in the region and has recently launched a mobile sheep showering service, based at the family’s hill farm at Langleydale.
The sheep shower system uses revolving jets of liquid insecticide, which are sprayed upwards from the base of the tub and then switched to an overhead position, to achieve full coverage.
“Dad bought a sheep showering system ten years ago, mainly to use at home, but also to generate income by taking it on to other farms,” says Lewis, 22. “I got involved in the work and as customer numbers increased, I took over and decided that I needed a more modern set-up.
“Many clients prefer to shower their sheep to guard against lice and blow flies, as it potentially offers better protection and can work out cheaper compared with pour-on solutions. The work is flexible enough to fit in with my other commitments – the main season starts in June and peaks during August and October.
“Last year, I handled more than 7,000 sheep through the shower and this year I expect the figure to be even higher. The price depends on how many sheep are booked in, but it is usually in the range of 70-75p per head.”
Another recent purchase is a mechanical stone picker.
“I couldn’t find anyone with a stone picker, so I’m hoping to attract some extra work this way. It will lift anything from small stones up to stones around the size of a 20-litre drum out of ploughed fields. I will then tip them into a dumper trailer and lead them away,”
Lewis was chosen to take part in the Farmer of the Future scheme, a 12-month Utass initiative.
It helped him to find placements on two local farms, one of which continues to employ him on a part-time basis. He also received training on subjects, including spraying, tractor and trailer driving, pest control and chainsaw operation. In addition, Lewis studied under the agricultural apprentice scheme run by Askham Bryan College, on the outskirts of York.
“Farming is highly regulated nowadays and certificates are required for many of the jobs that I am asked to do. The training I received from Utass was very helpful and I’m grateful for it. I also learned a lot on the placement farms.”
The organisation of his work schedule must be a significant task in itself and it is hard to see how he can possibly fit it all in.
His main employer is the dairy and arable farm at Ingleton, where he worked on his Utass placement.
There is always plenty to do on the unit – feeding up when the cows are inside in the winter and during harvest.
He also works on a hill farm similar to his own and sorts pigs on two separate units, as well as helping out at home, where he works for an average one day a week.
He always takes “time off” to assist Richard at lambing time and even has his own flock, which includes 250 Lleyns, as well as half a dozen Kerry Hills – simply because he likes the appearance of the breed.
Lewis has invested heavily in the sheep showering business and hopes that it will be a success. It seems certain that it will not fail due to lack of effort.
“I only had four days off last year and two of those days were taken up by visiting agricultural events. But that doesn’t bother me – there’s nothing else I particularly want to do,” he says.