British lamb takes centre stage after tough year for producers

British sheep farmers are heading into Love Lamb Week after one of the toughest summers in years, with drought, bluetongue and a shrinking national flock all weighing on the sector.

The annual campaign returned on Monday (1 September) and runs until 7 September under the theme Make it Lamb, as the industry looks to strengthen consumer demand for British lamb.

Disease pressure has been particularly significant. Latest official figures show 783 cases of bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) have been recorded in the UK during the 2026-27 bluetongue season.

The outbreak comes alongside prolonged dry weather and continued pressure on national sheep numbers, adding to the challenges facing livestock producers.

With the UK sheep flock continuing to contract, maintaining consumer demand for British lamb is becoming increasingly important for producers.

The National Sheep Association (NSA), which has supported Love Lamb Week since it began in 2015, said this year’s campaign comes at a particularly difficult point for the sector.

James Saker, Marketing and Communications Manager at the NSA, said: “This has been a challenging season for sheep farmers. The number of bluetongue cases, drought and a shrinking national flock have all landed at once, and yet sheep farmers have kept producing through it.”

Love Lamb Week is also highlighting the role sheep farming plays on land where arable production can be difficult.

Nearly half of UK agricultural land is classified as upland, according to figures cited by the NSA, with nutrient-poor soils, steep slopes and difficult weather limiting the potential for growing crops.

In Scotland, 55% of agricultural land is used for upland sheep farming or mixed sheep and beef production.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “Nearly half our farmland grows no crop at all, and sheep turn that grass into food while keeping habitats that depend on grazing alive.”

NatureScot has highlighted how grazing can create a mixture of shorter and taller vegetation used by species including lapwing, redshank, golden plover and curlew.

The NSA also argues that undergrazing can create problems on some sites where habitats have historically depended on grazing livestock.

For farmers, the commercial value of Love Lamb Week will ultimately depend on whether greater consumer awareness translates into sustained demand for British lamb.

The sheep sector has also received some better news from the wool market during 2026.

British Wool has reported prices at their highest level in around a decade and has indicated producers could receive around £1 per kilogram for the 2026 clip, following years when returns frequently struggled to cover shearing costs.

Love Lamb Week is backed by a wider group of industry organisations, including AHDB, Quality Meat Scotland, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales, the Livestock and Meat Commission, NFU, NFU Scotland, Ulster Farmers’ Union and Red Tractor.

For the sheep sector, the challenge now is whether promotional activity around British lamb can help sustain consumer demand while producers contend with disease pressure, prolonged dry weather and a contracting national flock.