Foot and mouth is creeping ever closer to my farm. We now have two outbreaks within 1km, and I wonder what future I have as a livestock farmer. It would seem a terrible waste to slaughter animals and then burn them rather than eat them, but the real tragedy is to destroy the breeding stock that represents many generations of work. When I think of the hefted flocks in Cumbria being destroyed en masse, it brings a great sadness to my heart.
Hefted flocks are part of the farm that they live on.
They do not wander far from the part of the hill that they were born and reared on, and do not mix with other sheep to any great degree. This allows them to be farmed. Generations destroyed Without hefted flocks, the hills of Cumbria would have to be fenced. It could be that I could become a high risk flock over the coming weeks, and see my closed flock of sheep destroyed. All the sheep on my farm, apart from a few male sheep, have been bred and born on the farm.