Farmers Guardian reports that Jackson and his father made a decision in 2005 to return to ‘dog and stick farming’ to achieving profitability without the Single Payment Scheme.

When EID became compulsory Jackson took a proactive approach to invest in both readers and software to download information on the sheep’s previous history stored in a computer chip in the eartag. This lets him assess performances without having to shed different genotypes.

”The only way of ensuring profitability is to manage the flock and spend less time jumping on and off the quad bike to intervene in what the sheep are doing,” (left) Jackson is quoted saying.

“The system allows me to spend my whole time managing the flock,” he said. “The whole operation can be carried out by myself and two dogs. I simply monitor the information, which identifies the sheep individually.”
 

Key to the management of the flock is investment in a £14,000 handling system of shedder and handling pens, weighing and sorting 450 sheep into sex pens using various parameters.

Installed with financial support under the Scottish Rural Development Programme, farm labour needs have been slashed by switching to wool shedding breeds and eliminating laobut intensive clipping, tail docking and castration.