System Diagram for Sheep Farm

This post is about hill sheep farming. Make sure you read it carefully and watch the video clip on Hill Sheep Farming.

Look at the photos below. They show different images of sheep farming in the Scottish Highlands.

 

 

 

Homework: Background reading: Hill Sheep Farming in Scotland

 

 

Here is a video clip about the decline of sheep farming in Scotland:

 

 

( if you can't access it, try entering the web address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySkTEa_xSyg

 

 

Listen out to the problems:

 

"too little too late"

what do farmers get at market for their lambs?

what is happening to the wool price?

what is happening to the bills that farmers have to pay?

what is the future for young people on hill farms?

what will happen to the hills and uplands if there are no hill farms?

What do you think the phrase "hefted sheep" means?

 

 

Taken from "A Kilchoan Diary", a blog that describes day to day life in Kilchoan, a crofting village in Ardnamurchan. Click here to find out about the sheep farmers year.

 

As you read it, think about these questions:

 

What is (a) a ewe, (b) a ram (tup)?

In which month(s) would you help with the lambing?

What happened to the average price over the last 5 years a farmer would get at market for lambs?

At the time the post was written, what was the highest price paid for a tup lamb?

Why did the farmer have to buy more hay?

What root crop is used to help feed the sheep?

 

 

Here is a system diagram for a hill sheep farm:
(Systems diagrams show inputs, processes and outputs on a farm)

                                                     ( Source: BBC Bitesize website)