BBC Countryfileâs Tom Heap will be leading this yearâs âBig Debateâ at the sheep industryâs national event, NSA Sheep 2014. The environment and rural affairs broadcaster will chair the panel and debate on âBalancing red meat supply with environmental impactâ.
A highly topical and divisive subject, it will examine how to promote the importance of producing red meat, particularly in the uplands, rather than seeing sheep as the enemy to the environment.
Chaired by Tom Heap, the panel consists of NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker; Alan Alderson, Cumbrian farmer and chairman of Swaledale Sheep Breedersâ Association; Philip Walling, author of Counting Sheep; Andrew Walker of Yorkshire Water; and Dr Pat Thompson of the RSPB.
Phil Stocker says, âWith a panel representing all angles of the debate and plenty of time for questions and discussion, I see this session as a unique opportunity for NSA Sheep Event visitors.
âIt is a chance for producers and those involved in the industry to have their say and to promote the value of sheep in the uplands in providing high quality meat, working in tandem with the environment, maintaining the landscape and sustaining rural communities,â he notes.
Philip Walling believes that discussions like this are essential for the industry: âFarmers are all too often portrayed as being in league with the devil, and their crucial work in producing food and maintaining the natural world misunderstood. This kind of topical debate is important to encourage people to consider what the land is really for, and to appreciate the skill, hard work and intelligence behind its management,â he says.