The sheep industry will celebrate all that is great about British lamb as farmers take part in events as part of Love Lamb Week 2018 next month.
This year's campaign, now in its fourth year, is running from Saturday 1st to Friday 7th September.
The Love Lamb campaign aims to change perceptions of when to eat lamb.
It highlights that the highest volume of UK product is actually available during the last six months of the year, despite many consumers typically choosing to enjoy lamb around Easter time.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) will be involved in the industry-wide campaign, alongside AHDB Beef & Lamb and other UK levy bodies.
Sheep farmers will be using social media and local events to promote themselves and their produce during the week.
'Enjoy lamb year round'
NSA Chief Executive, Phil Stocker said the support for Love Lamb week has grown year-on-year since it started as a social media campaign by Cumbrian sheep farmer Rachel Lumley in 2015.
"As well as encouraging consumers to eat more lamb, NSA believes educating them to understand its availability is crucial," Mr Stocker said.
“Tradition has conditioned us to buy lamb at Easter and in the spring, with shoppers probably unaware that the volume of our home produced lamb increases towards the autumn.
He added: “With Love Lamb Week landing in the first week of September, it’s a perfect time for our industry to remind people to enjoy lamb year round.”
Lending support to the campaign are the NSA Next Generation Ambassadors, a group of young sheep farmers keen to open the eyes of consumers who may not be aware of the environment in which their lamb is produced and all that the sheep sector does to enhance it.
Farming all the way up in the Shetland Isles, Next Generation Ambassador, Zoey Symington said: “We are lucky to farm in beautiful surroundings so protecting the environment is very important.
"On our farm we do various things to do this including putting goodness back into the ground by ploughing in muck that is spread on the land.”
The sheep organisation is also encouraging individual farmers to get involved at whatever level they can, be that hosting or supporting on-farm events or by sharing lamb recipes on social media.
