61st NI Dorset Club AGM held

Chairman, Allister McNeill opened the meeting by welcoming members and guests.

This was followed by Secretary, Treasurer and Chairman’s reports. Delivered by William Carson and Allister McNeill, they reflected on the successful year the club and breed has had with popularity constantly on the increase.

Following the election of committee and office bearers, Allister McNeill was re-elected as chairman and Steven Lyons as Vice Chairman.

Office bearers and committee members are as follows;

Office Bearers

Chairman: Allister McNeill

Vice Chairman: Steven Lyons

Secretary: William Carson

Treasurer: William Carson

Breed Promotion: Ellen McClure

Website Co-ordinator: Amanda Knox

Committee Members: Graham Cubitt, Mary Cubitt, Samuel Caldwell, Seamus Mullan, Amy McConnell, Katie Johnston, Thomas Wright, Ben Lamb. James Robson, Glen Miller

Following on from the success of the National Dorset AGM, hosted by the NI club, proceeds from the auction and raffle were presented to the two chosen charities. Mrs Rosemary Moore from the NI Children’s Hospice and Mrs Valerie Cubitt from Clic Sargent collected the tremendous total of £5000 raised.

Both charities prove a very worthwhile cause bringing much needed support to young people in our local communities.

Guest speaker for the evening was Mr Patrick Grant MRCVS who runs ‘The Sheep Vet’ specialising in advanced sheep fertility services including embryo transfer and AI and OPA scanning, something which many breeders have an interest in or are actively involved in. Patrick comes from a sheep farming background in Kilcoo, Co Down.

Situated in the heart of the Mournes, Patrick and family run 800 ewes comprising mainly of Lanark type Scottish Blackface and pedigree Suffolk ewes.

Patrick covered nutritional management of ewes at critical times whilst specifically addressing the Dorset breed and their unique ability to breed at any time of the year. Much of the talk was breeder focused in a ‘Q&A’ style approach which lead down the pathways of lameness, specific vitamins and minerals, sponging of sheep and abortion all of which Patrick linked back to his abundance of experience both on farm and as a vet.

Patrick finished by informing members of his unique OPA (Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma) scanning service. Caused by the contagious Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus, it infects the lungs causing tumours to form. The effect of such disease is loss of body condition/production, difficulty breathing and often nasal discharge.

Diagnosis of this disease is fatal, accounting for 1-20% of mortality in infected flocks each year. Patrick stressed that through scanning, effected sheep can be identified and culled to prevent further spread and also reduce mortality rates which ultimately benefits the farmer financially.

The Northern Ireland Dorset Club would like to extend its thanks to Patrick for sharing his wealth of knowledge with breeders and to the respective charities for their attendance and informative talks.