Countryfile - Kelso Ram Sales
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00:00Every year in early autumn, farmers from the length and breadth of the UK come here to
00:12the Scottish Borders. Why? It's the Kelso Ramsail.
00:42The market town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders has been home to the UK's largest and oldest
00:55one-day Ramsail since 1838. There are 3,772 Rams to be sold today and everybody is very keen to
01:06get going. But there's a tradition, nothing happens, nothing at all, until those bells are run.
01:13And that's it, we're off.
01:21It's a huge event with competitive buyers, meticulous sellers,
01:33we're just adding a little bit of whitening, the legs are nice and clean, it's not drawing the eye
01:38away from the body. Will this make all the difference do you reckon? It does, quite a bit.
01:41Honestly? Yeah. And a novel way of moving sheep. Stubborn. You want attitude. And off they go, tuck
01:51taxi. And away from Kelso, Adam's in Cumbria, helping shepherdess Katie with a tricky sheep
01:59drive. Do you want to start off in the gate and hopefully they all get the idea. I'll run round.
02:06Kelso Ramsail is an important annual fixture for many sheep farmers. With so many buyers,
02:24it's a chance to sell tubs, as the Rams are known, for the best price.
02:31It's a two-day event with thousands of attendees travelling from across the country.
02:36Day one is the prep day for the Rams, with some of the best entering the judges' show.
02:43Day two is for the all-important auctions.
02:47Sellers have to make sure that the tubs they're bringing here are in tip-top condition.
02:55I visited one of those sellers who's been preparing for more than a year for this one event,
03:04sheep farmer Anne May Chapman. Anne manages her flocks of Texels and Suffolk sheep
03:10on her family farm at the foot of the Cheviot Hills in beautiful Northumberland.
03:15So these are your Texels? They are indeed, yes. These do look pretty tidy. Have you been
03:20titivating? We have a guy comes in and dresses them, which is basically hand shears and just
03:26takes off the loose ends and just gives them that nice shape and a nice tight wool. And then we
03:31colour as well, so that's not the natural colour. They're usually a white fleece and these guys we
03:35colour with a recipe from a lovely Welsh farmer. And then they're finally numbered as well.
03:41The wool is dyed to a carefully chosen shade with a coloured powder pigment and a liquid dye.
03:47However, the exact recipe each farmer uses to best show off their rams is a closely guarded
03:53secret. So in effect they've had a haircut and then you've dyed their hair. Why? Well we colour them
03:59to sort of just bring out their best features. So because they're white heads and white legs,
04:04the colour really makes them stand out. It just makes the whole thing sort of pop.
04:10And do you allocate different numbers to different looking sheep? Yes, so what we tend to do is,
04:16and a lot of people will do as well, is anything ending in zero or fives tend to be our top
04:21tups, the ones that we deem our top tups. And that you hope everybody else will deem you top tup and
04:26pay you massive amounts of money for. Kypie Farm is family run, with Anne's sons Henry and Ewan
04:35playing a big role. Dad David, who's run the farm for 33 years, is still very much involved.
04:43Who's this? Here's somebody to see you. Oh David, he's your favourite isn't he? He's one of them,
04:47yes. He follows me around and he's great company. He's very friendly. He's pretty chilled out now.
04:53He's laid back. If you're honest David, do you want to sell him? Aye. Really? You want to sell him?
05:00Not really, no. No, no. He has to go though. So how much do you think you'll get for him? Is he...
05:04No idea. Tomorrow's a surprise. Really? For everybody, yes.
05:12Today, Anne is taking 22 Texel tups to the sale, as well as 22 Suffolks.
05:22Split into smaller safe loads, they're ready to be transported to the sale ground,
05:27just 14 miles away. So which are worth more, generally speaking? The Suffolks
05:31we're better known for, so I would say them at the moment, although the Texels are
05:36catching up. So it takes a little while to establish yourself as a trusted breeder.
05:40Is that what it's all about, reputation? Oh yeah, absolutely. As your buyers coming back,
05:44they've enjoyed what they've had, they've had a good experience lambing them, or they've been
05:48happy with what they've produced from them. It's what you really hope for. It's a bit of a mission
05:53this, isn't it? It is, but it's fairly well oiled now. You go to the sales growing up when you go
05:58to buy a tup. It's about the atmosphere. It's nice to be there to show off your own sheep. It's nice
06:02to have people come in and look at your sheep. It's a big day and it's important and you want
06:07to make sure everything's going well and everyone's happy. It's 18 months worth of work.
06:12Do you think your dad's going to sell that ram? Yes, 100%. That's me that's selling the Texels,
06:18so it's definitely going. The sale ground has become a hive of activity, with sellers arriving
06:27from all over the country in the hope of making big money on their prized tups. Anne and the boys
06:34have successfully ferried their Texels and Suffolks into the allocated pens ahead of tomorrow's
06:40auction. Alongside Anne, there are 300 other farms selling their livestock here and they're all
06:46hoping for one thing, that it's their tups that stand out from the crowd. There are sheep arriving,
06:53people running around. It's a real feeling of things getting ready. It's getting busy. People
07:00are all trying to come in and we're just trying to feed water, make sure everyone's fine. Okay,
07:07right, that's us for now.
07:22Elsewhere on the sales ground, more and more farmers continue to arrive,
07:27as this small market town's population doubles for the big event.
07:34If you're sheep farming, then the Kelso ram sale is a big deal. It's massive for a start,
07:40and this is where farmers come to choose the ram which will sire the lambs on which their
07:45livelihood depends. Farmers often aren't able to breed from the rams they produce on their own farm
07:50because they're too closely related to the ewes that'll be impregnated. So they come to markets
07:56like Kelso to choose from the more than 3,000 rams on offer. And with so many rams to choose from,
08:04sellers like Richard Priestley from Cumbria will do whatever it takes to rise above the fray.
08:11Now you're just putting extra straw in here. What's that for?
08:15It's just to try and make the sheep look bigger to compete with the others either side.
08:21So literally you're just building it up?
08:23Just make it a little bit bigger.
08:25Does that work?
08:26Yeah, you've only got to look at the ones next door. They're higher up in the pens,
08:31and just when the buyers come in, they just stand bigger and look better towards them.
08:35You're optimistic? Are they worth buying?
08:38Yeah, I would say if you want one, yeah, get in this pen.
08:45It's four o'clock, and with rams still arriving for tomorrow's sales,
08:49there's a sudden surge of farmers all looking for the perfect tup to add to their flock.
08:55Bidding starts in 18 hours, so East Lothian sheep farmer Willie Pate and his sons,
09:00Ewan and Cameron, are having a thorough search through the stock.
09:04So what's the etiquette here? When you're wandering through, can you just
09:08climb into the pen if you want?
09:09Yep, yep.
09:10Can you? That seems very rude.
09:12They would rather you went in and looked, because if you walk past, you're not looking.
09:16So they're quite happy for you to go in and look.
09:19So by the time you come to be standing around the ring,
09:22are you pretty sure what you're bidding on, because you've wandered around today?
09:25Pretty sure what I'm going to bid on, not pretty sure what I might buy,
09:27because you have to draw the line as well, but yeah, we'll have it narrowed pretty well down.
09:32Yeah.
09:33Willie farms two breeds of sheep, Suffolks and Texels,
09:37and he's come to Kelso to look for a ram of each breed.
09:41First up, the Suffolk.
09:43Okay, so if we look at one of these...
09:44So if we take one of these...
09:45Do you want this one?
09:46Take this one here, I'll bring this one forward.
09:49So you're looking at the whole sheep.
09:55The ram's job at the end of the day is to go out for three weeks or a month
09:59and serve between 50 and 70 ewes.
10:02So there's a lot of things he has to have,
10:04and the first base he has to have is to have two good-sized testicles,
10:09because there's a lot of work to do in three weeks.
10:11And then you stand back and you look at the ram,
10:13he's standing square, he's got length about him.
10:17Yeah.
10:18So you want them to be long?
10:19You want length, because length becomes weight as well
10:22in your finished product the next year.
10:24Right.
10:24Another thing you want, you want a good, tight skin,
10:27because a good, tight skin is waterproof for when they're out and about in the wintertime.
10:32What do you mean by tight skin?
10:32Well, if you feel that skin there, it's a good skin.
10:35Yeah, I see what you mean.
10:37See this guy here, he's standing with his head up,
10:39he's saying, look at me, right?
10:42So he's got character.
10:43So you want a bit of arrogance?
10:44Yeah, you don't want to sleep...
10:46Any sheep or cattle beast that says, look at me,
10:49has got style and that carries through.
10:52Across the showground, Ewan and Cameron have spotted something promising,
10:56a ram for the Texel herd.
10:59So Willie's sons have dragged him over here,
11:01because they've got their eye on one of these,
11:04and they're now trying to persuade him that that's a brilliant idea.
11:09Why this one?
11:10Um, just he's got a great length, depth in him, and his jiggit.
11:17Jiggit refers to the rear of the sheep, where lots of meat is to be found.
11:22Do you agree, Dad?
11:23I totally agree.
11:23A good style of sheep.
11:25Right, so let's talk money.
11:27What's your budget for your Texel ram tomorrow, then?
11:31We're the farmer.
11:32The farmer's standing behind, that's a bad question to ask.
11:36That is a really difficult one.
11:401,500 to 2,000, I suppose.
11:42Well, we'll catch up with you tomorrow.
11:44Yeah.
11:44I'll maybe buy you a drink afterwards, then, to recover.
11:47That'd be a good idea.
11:48That's the best idea I've had.
11:49Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:50Good.
11:51All being well, Willie will get his top top tomorrow.
11:55But for now, Anne and the boys are gearing up for a Kelso tradition
11:59later this afternoon, the judges show.
12:02Are you going to put one of these in?
12:04Yeah, he is going in.
12:05So which one?
12:05So we're going to put 25 in, Dad's favourite.
12:07What is it, then, about this one that made him better than all the rest?
12:10He's got a good shoulder.
12:12He's got a good back end on him.
12:13But his length and his actual stature is the kind of stand out.
12:17Really nice head on him as well.
12:19And if you win, does that mean?
12:21It's just a nice extra.
12:23OK.
12:23Yeah, we'll just get a brush onto him again.
12:32I think the day before is kind of the shop window for tomorrow.
12:35So I think it is quite important.
12:37We're just adding a little bit of whitening.
12:39It's chalk powder, actually, essentially, to the legs.
12:42If the legs are nice and clean, it's not drawing the eye away from the body.
12:47Will this make all the difference, do you reckon?
12:49It does.
12:49Just taking the straw off makes quite a bit of difference.
12:51Honestly?
12:52Yeah.
12:53With Dad's favourite ready to strut his stuff.
12:58The boys are taking the reins as the judges show gets underway.
13:04They are really involved, aren't they, the kids?
13:05Oh, goodness me.
13:06Yes, absolutely.
13:08It's a proper family farm.
13:09Proper family farm, indeed.
13:11So how do you think he holds up to the competition?
13:14He's equally as big.
13:15He maybe doesn't have quite as much of the body.
13:18There's some big guys in here.
13:19Yeah.
13:20Right, gents, catch them up, please.
13:27The judge examines each top carefully, looking at the teeth,
13:31gauging the back for muscle and fat, and inspecting the all-important testicles.
13:36Right, then, first place and champion in ring 19,
13:40Shawshoot, Robson Buckham.
13:46Not a win for Anne this time, but it's certainly not dampening Ewan's spirits.
13:51Well done, Ewan.
13:52How do you think that went?
13:53Pretty well, but we didn't get the placement we wanted.
13:56We wanted first, obviously.
13:58What did you think of the one that won, Ewan?
14:00It was quite a nice top, yeah.
14:02I'd say ours is still better, but that's just my choice.
14:07Because it is quite a personal thing, in a way, isn't it?
14:09Yeah, it just depends what you're looking for, what it's going on to,
14:13what use you're going to use it on to.
14:14What's next?
14:16What's next is we are going to go and have something to eat, a little bit of socialising,
14:20and then we start all over again tomorrow morning, bright and early.
14:25And as the day draws to a close, everyone's gearing up for the auction tomorrow.
14:32Day two is auction day, and it's down to business for the sellers and the buyers.
14:50We've gone from 400 to 1,200 in about 30 seconds.
15:03Yeah.
15:04Oh, God, 1,300.
15:07It's so fast.
15:08It's amazing.
15:09The top that Willy and his sons had their eye on is about to go under the hammer.
15:13So once the bidding starts, you don't interfere?
15:16No, leave them to it.
15:17Really?
15:17You don't kind of give them a bit of a push or anything?
15:19I'll leave that up to you. He's older than me.
15:25Willy's chosen top was a champion in one of the breed shows yesterday,
15:29which means he and his sons aren't the only farmers who've spotted a winner.
15:493,000? Not worth it for you?
16:04His first choice top might have been too rich for Willy's blood,
16:07but another promising ram from the same breeder arrives in the ring.
16:13With the subtlest of gestures, he's in the bidding.
16:19And before you know it, the hammer goes down.
16:25Hey, well done.
16:26You just bought a ram.
16:28So what was that, 1,200?
16:301,300.
16:301,300.
16:32Yeah, yeah.
16:32Wow.
16:33Yeah, yeah.
16:33Yeah.
16:34You pleased with that one?
16:35Yeah, yeah.
16:36So we'll now look for a Suffolk now.
16:40Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:41Well, good luck with that.
16:42Thank you very much.
16:43That was good.
16:45Yeah.
16:45Oh, I'm exhausted.
16:49I'm tired.
16:58The farmers here are raising animals for meat,
17:01and there are strict rules around the way it's produced.
17:04One of the key parts of getting that food to our plate safely
17:08are the people called official vets working in abattoirs.
17:11I've been finding out all about their job
17:14and why so few British vets seem to want to do it.
17:20Here in Wiltshire, Lucy and Nick Tyler's family
17:24have been farming since the 1930s.
17:27These cattle are being raised for beef.
17:29Come on in, girls.
17:29Morning.
17:30Yeah, morning.
17:33Top of their priorities is the health and well-being of their livestock
17:37right from the day they're born to the moment they're slaughtered for meat.
17:42Tell me what we've got here.
17:43So this is a group of F1 Wagoos,
17:46and we're rearing them up to about 28 months,
17:48where they then head on to slaughter.
17:50And where do they go for slaughter?
17:51So we use our local abattoir, which is only about 20 minutes from the farm.
17:55And is that important that it's so close?
17:57They go straight to the abattoir.
17:59The whole process is very slick, very quick, and very smooth for the animal.
18:02It's really important for me to know that the animals have
18:05the best end as well as the best life.
18:09There are around 315 abattoirs in the UK,
18:12part of a meat industry that's worth nearly £11bn,
18:16including £2bn in exports.
18:19The majority of us see only the start and finish of that supply chain.
18:23But the way those abattoirs are run is critical
18:26in making sure food is safe for us to eat.
18:29So how do we do that?
18:31Well, between the cattle here on the farm and the meat on our forks,
18:35there is a little-known but vital role, the official vet.
18:40Without them in abattoirs, no animal can be slaughtered.
18:46Edip Arginolu is one of those official vets, also known as an OV.
18:52He's employed by a private company,
18:54contracted by the Food Standards Agency, the FSA.
18:58Edip is making sure the sheep and cattle arriving at the abattoir
19:02are safe to go into the food chain.
19:05So what are you checking for at this point?
19:07For this point, it is called antemortem inspection.
19:10We are basically checking the animals are fit for the slaughter process.
19:15So if you're not happy, then they can't go on into the food chain?
19:19Yes, that is true.
19:20Because it's really important regarding the issues we have for blue tongue,
19:24mad cow disease.
19:26I mean, if it's poultry, it's good for ovarian influenza as well.
19:29So we need that traceability.
19:31By law, OVs have to inspect every single cow, pig, sheep or goat before it's slaughtered.
19:38Poultry can be inspected in batches.
19:41That's all astonishing when you realise that more than a billion animals
19:45are slaughtered every year in this country.
19:48What made you want to be an OV?
19:50I wanted to make sure about food safety and animal welfare as much as I can.
19:55So I decided when I was in university,
19:57and I think it's one of the best decisions I have ever made.
20:01The FSA has relied on overseas official vets to work in abattoirs for years.
20:07Out of the 329 employed across Great Britain, just 13 are British.
20:13Many people would see this as a difficult career
20:15because you are working with animals who are about to die.
20:18It is in a way, but imagine you are making sure all of the food,
20:22animal products entering in the chain is safe
20:25and all of the animals, their welfare is not compromised.
20:28So I am having super nice, comfortable sleeps.
20:32How many British vets do you know who are doing the same job?
20:35Two.
20:37The system's dependence on foreign vets
20:40is something the Food Standards Agency wants to change.
20:45Emily Miles is the FSA's outgoing chief executive.
20:49We do rely on foreign vets and they are fantastic.
20:51They do a brilliant job.
20:52But one of the things we have learnt over the last few years
20:55is that foreign vets often want to go back home and live there.
20:59What we would like is to go back to the situation we had 14, 15 years ago
21:03where the tenure of vets was much longer because we think the quality goes up.
21:06When you have got people who are new to the job,
21:08they do not understand it so well.
21:10When they have been in the job a long time,
21:12they obviously understand the law and they are far more experienced.
21:15So we would like to be in that situation.
21:17I suspect vets from overseas will be a part of the food safety
21:21and animal health and welfare system for a long time to come.
21:24But we think we want to give the opportunity to British trained vets as well.
21:28Why won't British vets do this job?
21:31They are interested in clinical practice.
21:33It is what they get trained in.
21:34I think it has been salaries.
21:36We have just done a big pay increase for vets in abattoirs.
21:39So now if you are a vet you can expect to be earning about 50 grand at the start
21:44whereas before it was about 40 grand.
21:46It is quite a big increase and we think that has stabilised the supply quite a bit.
21:49We are pedalling very hard in the background
21:52on making the role more attractive to British trained vets.
21:55I suppose it is not that surprising
21:56that people do not particularly want to work in an abattoir.
21:59What the vet does in an abattoir is absolutely essential.
22:02That independent look at whether the animal is well
22:06and is being looked after well before it gets slaughtered
22:09and then afterwards the post-mortem checks to make sure that the carcass is safe
22:13and there is not any animal disease that might affect a human.
22:16It was a vet who found the foot and mouth disease in 2001 in an abattoir.
22:19So those roles are incredibly important.
22:21They make a huge difference.
22:23What happens if there is a problem with OVs, if there just are not enough?
22:26If there was a short term crisis,
22:28if you suddenly did not have an OV in two months time
22:30then you have animals and birds backing up on farm, you have animal welfare issues.
22:34The issue we are thinking about is more long term.
22:36What we are talking about is planning the pipeline of vets.
22:39We are just doing a lot of work behind the scenes
22:41to make sure that we have got enough vets to cover every shift.
22:46One place where they are trying to help create a pipeline of home-grown OVs is Bristol.
22:51Tim Parkin is head of the university's vet school.
22:55It is the only university in the country
22:57where students can obtain the specific qualification needed to be an OV.
23:01They even have their own abattoir.
23:04Is part of the solution here just to train more vets?
23:07It is part of the solution but we have got to remember
23:09the percentage of vets who will go into the OV profession is not very high.
23:12Are you surprised that more of your students do not become OVs?
23:16I am not overly surprised.
23:18You think about students when they first arrive on their first day,
23:20the vast majority of them have this vision that they are going to go into clinics.
23:24I make a point of saying we have an abattoir on site
23:27and I say it is not the most sexy part of the profession
23:29but actually it is a unique selling point for Bristol Vet School.
23:32So all the final year students go through at least one week
23:35of the veterinary public health programme
23:37centred on the abattoir that we have on site
23:39but then they also have the opportunity to do a week-long OV course.
23:43And yet even though you offer all that opportunity,
23:47hardly any of your students go into that profession.
23:51I think what we really need to do is understand how we make
23:54that opportunity much more attractive for those students,
23:56combining it with either working in a small animal clinic,
23:59making their days much more flexible.
24:01These students are in the final year of their veterinary degree.
24:05Did you at any point in your career so far think about being an OV?
24:09They bring it up in lectures and it does make you think
24:11but I feel like I have not properly considered it
24:15because I have been more down the small animal route.
24:18It is definitely something I would consider
24:20especially because I am interested in farm anyway
24:22so it is related.
24:24I honestly did not realise that that was a vet's job,
24:26that they need to do it but now I am here it makes so much sense
24:29that it is needed.
24:31The role of the official vet is little known even among some vets
24:35and without them the meat industry would grind to a halt.
24:41How much does all this matter to the average consumer?
24:44Well I think if someone is thinking about what they are going to put
24:47on their plate tonight or tomorrow lunchtime and there is meat on it
24:50then they will be wanting to just be reassured that the food is safe,
24:53that the animal went through a slaughter process that was properly humane.
24:57Official vets are critical to food being safe
25:02and to animal health and to animal welfare
25:05but we think it would be better if we had more
25:07British trained vets coming into those roles.
25:21As the sales are well underway here at Kelso,
25:24Adam's over the border in Cumbria.
25:31Over the last few years we've been following the highs
25:39and the lows of young hill farmer Katie Laidlow.
25:43I think unfortunately just because the mother hasn't licked it
25:46I think it might have died.
25:51Now I'm meeting her for the first time at an important point in the farming calendar.
25:57Shepherding on the uplands in the UK is an age old practice
26:01and at this time of year farmers are gathering their flocks off the fells
26:04and bringing them down into the valleys to wean the lambs
26:07and Katie is going to show me how it's done.
26:12Katie's family farm is split between 70 acres around the farmhouse
26:16and 180 acres of fell land high up on the 520 meter tall Browmber Hill.
26:24How long have you been farming?
26:26So we came here in 2011 and I was about four or five
26:29so for me it's been my whole life.
26:31So Jo and Sammy were with you at Christmas.
26:33What's been going on since then?
26:34Yeah that was a lot of fun but we've had a busy lambing season
26:38and then we've got some crops of haylidging
26:41and we've still got some hay to get in
26:42and then we've just been busy putting fences up, hedges, just general farm job.
26:48Sure there's always something to do isn't there?
26:50There is, always yes.
26:51And tell me about the animals, what have you got?
26:53So we've got sheep, we've got cows, we've got goats and donkeys
26:57but it's the sheep that we're going to be focused on today.
27:00It's a two and a half mile journey from fell to farm
27:03and we're heading up with Katie's mum and dad, Kirsten and Andy.
27:07Sadly one key member of the team, Gem, the family border collie,
27:12passed away earlier this year
27:14and this is the first time they're bringing down the sheep without a dog.
27:18As far as the area you've got to gather, are we gathering the hill too?
27:22So we've already done that.
27:23So you've got them contained here, we're just going to get them from up the valley?
27:26Yes so hopefully it won't take long.
27:28We've got Sam who's my brother on the child's bike
27:30so he'll be able to go around any stragglers at the bottom.
27:33Yeah so good replacement for the dog.
27:35Yeah very handy, saves us running everywhere.
27:37Sure, look at them they are friendly.
27:42And the herdwick is a gorgeous breed isn't it?
27:45And really because of their hardiness and their wool and all the rest of it
27:49is why they can survive up here on the fell?
27:51Yes.
27:52And they've got quite a hairy wool haven't they?
27:54They have, it's quite a different texture to one like this which is a quinn texel cross.
27:59Sure.
27:59And it can really withstand weather.
28:02Yeah incredible.
28:03The texel ewes only spend their first summer on the fells,
28:07they won't survive lambing up here
28:09so they spend the rest of their lives on the lower farm.
28:12But for the herdwicks it's home and they're hefted to this land.
28:17Hefting is when a sheep has been in one part for all its life
28:22and then it sort of passes down to its lambs where to go, where not to go.
28:27So it really knows the land and passes all that knowledge down to its lambs
28:31and then it continues.
28:33Gives us down the generations.
28:36We'll just wait for Sam to come
28:37and then when we think we've got them all we can open the gate and release them.
28:41Sure and we're hoping there's around 70 odd.
28:43Yes that's the number that we sent up here so hopefully we'll get them all back.
28:47Here they come.
28:49If you want to start opening the gate and hopefully I'll walk out with a couple of them.
28:54Yes.
28:54Just so they all get the idea.
28:56Right where are they going?
28:57To head down.
28:59Come on then.
29:01Oh dad can you?
29:03I'll run round.
29:04The first section of the drive is the 100 meter descent off the fell
29:09and it's the old herdwicks leading the way.
29:12Although some of them want to go cross-country.
29:16There's one old ewe up there that Katie's just going to try and bring down to join the flock.
29:22The flock have gone over the ditch and up round the top
29:26so the motorbike Sam is trying to bring them down to the ledge.
29:29Fortunately with a bit of a steer from Katie and Sam
29:32the older sheep are soon back on track and leading the way to the farm.
29:37Just leaving us to pick up the stragglers.
29:40Go on.
29:40Keep going in the right direction.
29:43These little lambs think their mum's back on the fell don't they?
29:46Yes a few little cheeky ones, little mischievous ones
29:49that are trying to get to the top of the hill.
29:50I'm going to try and get them to come down to the top of the hill.
29:53I'm going to try and get them to come down to the top of the hill.
29:55I'm going to try and get them to come down to the top of the hill.
29:57Mischievous ones that are trying to get back.
29:59Just want to keep them going.
30:01But all the other sheep they know where they're going so they're way ahead of us.
30:04And they'll have learned that over the years the way home.
30:07Yeah they will because they'll be able to remember
30:09that this is where they go home for the winter time.
30:12Right.
30:14It's really beautiful isn't it?
30:15Sun is shining now.
30:17What a lovely experience.
30:19But hard work you know although this is part of your life
30:22you know you're trying to make a living up here aren't you?
30:24Yeah and it can get difficult especially at winter times
30:27but really it's jobs like this when you're outdoors with your livestock
30:31that really makes you realise why you love farming.
30:39After travelling just under a mile
30:41we've reached the edge of the farmland below the fells.
30:44Here the flock gets a little rest before we set off again.
30:48It's all going pretty well considering they've lost one of the team.
30:54You missing the dog?
30:55I am actually yeah it is very strange because normally should just be there
30:59sort of at your heel just making sure everything's going well
31:02but I think we could have probably done with it when they all escaped up that bank.
31:05Sure.
31:07The second section of the drive follows an old track for a mile to the village of Dufton.
31:12I always find it quite nostalgic that there would have been drovers routes and
31:16tracks like this that farmers would have been walking livestock down
31:19for hundreds if not thousands of years.
31:21Yeah you can almost feel the history as you're walking down here
31:24of all those people who've done it in the past
31:26and even though the world's probably changed a lot since the first start doing it
31:29we're still doing it here in 2024.
31:31Here we are on foot moving livestock.
31:33Yeah exactly.
31:44Oh we're coming across some water now and you do tend to find that the sheep
31:47get a little bit reluctant about crossing this big puddle.
31:50Okay.
31:51So we might get a little bit of a natural stoppage but if we just keep pushing them
31:54then we should continue to go through.
31:59Go on it's not that scary.
32:08Come on little one.
32:11Hiya.
32:13Hello.
32:14Okay so this is the next holding area.
32:15Yep so they've all been walked into here finally made it down.
32:20Well done.
32:21Now we've just got to work our way through the village.
32:22Yes.
32:23Okay.
32:25Reaching Dufton means we're past the halfway mark.
32:28One and a half miles to go and to get through the village
32:32there's some help from friends and family to try and keep the sheep from straying off route.
32:37Tilly are we okay?
32:39Yeah all set.
32:41Hang on we've got a disaster here.
32:46Some of the sheep have run up into the farmyard
32:49and we hold those there Tilly for a minute.
32:52Shall we let the others join them?
32:53Tilly hold them there and these ones will come.
32:55They're coming.
32:57And someone left their position.
32:59Well maybe we won't blame anybody.
33:03Here they come the stragglers.
33:05Here they are.
33:07Come on sheep it's another way by now.
33:12Now we've just got to try and catch up with the rest of them.
33:16That little hiccup aside we're all caught up and soon back on route to the farm.
33:22This is great past the campsite through the village around the corner of my home.
33:27It's quite the journey.
33:28It's quite an adventure.
33:33Once we're clear of the village that's the last major obstacle behind us
33:37and ahead for the final mile we're just winding our way through sun-dappled woods
33:42and luscious green fields.
33:43Before emerging back onto the lower farm where both us and the sheep can have a well-earned rest.
33:51So we've come from the other side of that hill have we?
33:53Yes we have all the way down there through the gill and then back home here we are.
33:58And how long will you keep the sheep down here now?
34:00Well all these sheep will be down here for the whole of winter now
34:03and then they'll land down here and then in about April time
34:07they'll go back up to the fell and the whole thing begins again.
34:10Incredible. Well it's been lovely to meet you.
34:12Thank you for letting me join in. I thought it went very smoothly.
34:14It's been great to meet you and you've definitely come in handy seeing us.
34:18We didn't have our sheep dogged.
34:19Have we got time for a cup of tea?
34:20Yeah I think we deserve it.
34:32Back in Kelso it's sale day and with more than 3,000 tops bought and sold
34:38and 8,000 attendees it's a military operation getting the right tops to the right buyers.
34:46All the rams here have to get from the pens to their new owners trailers
34:50which are parked all around the showground.
34:53How are they going to do that?
34:54Well the organisers have come up with a novel solution.
35:01No trip to Kelso would be complete without a ride in a top taxi.
35:05The Kelso ram sales famous top taxis can be seen shuttling rams across the site from day to night.
35:14Behind the wheel of this one is local sheep farmer Stuart Craig.
35:18So what's the point then of a top taxi?
35:21The point of a top taxi is to basically save a real bit of congestion in the show field
35:27and if it's a wet year everyone's going to be in a bit of a hurry.
35:31Bit of congestion in the show field and if it's a wet year
35:35everybody bringing their own vehicles and big trailers in can make a real mess.
35:39Because they all churn up and I guess they get stuck in the mud.
35:42Pretty much.
35:43Because these are so small a bit smaller and more nimble than big 4x4s and trailers
35:47it's actually a lot safer and they're far more manoeuvrable.
35:52You have to know your way because there's no signposts here are there?
35:55No no it's all it's yeah it's you get to know where everything is if you've done it for a lot of years.
36:00So who drives them?
36:01There's a lot of young farmers come, farmer sons and daughters
36:05that's because they kind of know what they're doing on a vehicle anyway.
36:09This year there are 37 top taxi drivers and they're about to be joined by a new recruit
36:15if I can pass the test.
36:17I've got an induction booked with on-site instructor James Scott.
36:22Right okay so in this induction then what are you looking to see?
36:26So the big thing's really just about sort of driver awareness and basic control of the vehicle
36:31you know be able to get close enough back that we're not going to have a whole lot of
36:34very expensive straight ups running about the showground.
36:38Right watch the trailer.
36:40I'm watching the trailer.
36:45He's laughing at me.
36:47That doesn't look great to me.
36:56Well we got there eventually.
36:59You got there.
37:02With that I'm ready to pick up my first customer at the top taxi stand.
37:07Right hello who's our willing hello hi I'm Charlotte.
37:12Hi I'm Ian.
37:12Hi Ian where are we going?
37:13Nice to meet you.
37:15What are we picking up?
37:16Blueface Leicester Shearling ring 15.
37:18Ring 15.
37:19And I need that yeah right okay brilliant what could possibly go wrong we'll see you there.
37:25Oh you've been stubborn.
37:42He is well someone was telling me you want attitude.
37:47Yeah handsome though isn't he?
37:49This Blueface Leicester top is valuable and as a novice I'm way too chicken to risk it
37:55so I'm handing him over to Stuart.
37:59What difference does it make having this service?
38:01It's great because you can you can back the trailer right up to where
38:05where the top's been loaded you don't have to drag it about and so it's
38:09yeah for safety it's convenient for you and better for better for the ram really
38:13it keeps everything calm yeah yeah well brilliant I hope it works out for you.
38:18Right thank you I'll leave you to it.
38:19Thanks Stuart.
38:20Cheers.
38:24And off they go, tuck taxi.
38:41It is a beautiful bright day here in Kelto but in all honesty it is a bit cold.
38:47What's the weather got in store for next week?
38:49Here's the country fall forecast.
38:58Hello there, good evening.
38:59Well there may have been a lot of dry and bright weather in Kelso but across the southern half
39:03of the UK it's been a very wet month in Debre at the end of September.
39:08Some spots across the south have seen more than three or four times
39:12their average September rainfall of course leading to flooding and a lot of saturated
39:17ground some of the worst of it has been in Woburn in Bedfordshire and there's more heavy
39:20rain on the way too as we head through the next couple of days or so so no immediate
39:25respite here it's feeling cool but then through the middle of the week we'll see high pressure
39:29build in it's turning drier and there will be some sunshine but in the meantime this is the
39:34rainfall accumulation chart for the next couple of days or so just take a look at the north
39:38midlands where the ground is saturated some heavy rainfall for the next couple of days
39:43within this area and here's the area of low pressure that's responsible a deep low just
39:47rolling in from the southwest through tonight there'll be heavy downpours of rain especially
39:52over the higher ground of the southwest of England and up through Wales pushing into
39:56central southern England gales towards the south coast here drier further north but still
40:01some showers out towards eastern areas of Scotland and across Northern Ireland but for all of us it
40:06is a milder night to come than it was last night of course and then that low continues to push
40:11further northwards and eastwards through tomorrow but it bumps into the area of high pressure and
40:15it stalls so it's not good news we've seen all of that recent flooding of course particularly
40:20across the north midlands some of the heaviest downpours of rain likely tomorrow to be across
40:24the Liverpool bay area and down through southeast Yorkshire down into the north midlands and for
40:29eastern areas of east Anglia too but towards the south it's tending to dry out and across the far
40:35north there'll still be a few showers plenty of cloud but again a drier looking picture here and
40:41then that rain starts to curl away into the north sea as we head through Monday night but still
40:46some more wet weather to come of course and it's a slightly cooler feeling start to the day on
40:50Tuesday out towards the west but it will of course be dry here and then we've still got that area of
40:55low pressure in the north sea as we head through Tuesday so there's still a legacy of rain out
41:00towards parts of east Anglia and down through southeast England as well and look at that brisk
41:04easterly wind coming in off the north sea further north and west though there will be some sunshine
41:09and it's certainly looking largely dry here and temperatures will rise in the best of the sunshine
41:14we're looking at 14 to 17 celsius but it will feel quite bleak underneath all of that rain still
41:19further east and then there's still a legacy of that rain on Wednesday in the far south and east
41:23but look high pressure starts to edge down from the north so we should be looking mostly dry by
41:29the end of Wednesday just about everywhere still a few showers in the far south and the east still
41:33that easterly wind blowing but some sunshine around and at last a chance for a bit of respite
41:38from all of that wet weather 13 to 17 celsius once again which is round about the seasonal average but
41:44high pressure sticks around into Thursday it could be quite a chilly night on Wednesday into Thursday
41:50so a cooler start but it should be largely frost free there could be some mist and fog patches
41:54perhaps as well and then we start to track out towards the northwest another area of low pressure
41:59approaching but Thursday should stay dry and again temperatures will be more or less the
42:04seasonal average so the high pulls away on Thursday into Friday moves further eastwards allowing
42:10these low pressure systems to approach so there will be some rain out towards the far north and
42:15west of Scotland turning cloudier across the west and across Northern Ireland the sunshine
42:20lost in longest towards the east and I'll hand you back to John
42:37Before we head back to the action at the Kelso Ram Sale here's John
42:40to tell us about another big event that's coming up soon
42:44Well the Ramble Weekend is first approaching and Pudsey and I hope that it's going to be the biggest
42:50and best ever don't we Pudsey on its 10th anniversary so wherever you are dig out your
42:56walking boots and organise a ramble in aid of BBC children in need that's what you need to do isn't it Pudsey
43:05This year's theme is challenge yourself to make life brighter and more
43:09This year's theme is challenge yourself to make life brighter for many children
43:14and you can challenge yourselves on Rambles Weekend which is happening on Saturday the 12th
43:20and Sunday the 13th of October. Well when you're on your ramble why not take some footage on your
43:26smartphone and then to send it to us click on the link on our website and who knows your ramble
43:32could be on the telly give us a thumbs up Pudsey
43:37No matter how big or how small your ramble everyone has the power
43:41to bring hope and help to children in need. Children like Jack in Wales
43:52He's one of the strongest people I know and his courage is just phenomenal and he gives
43:59everything a go at least once. 15 year old Jack lives with his mum Louise near Swansea
44:06from an early age Jack has faced many challenges. When he was 18 months he still wasn't sitting up
44:12took him to the doctor and turns out he has hypermobility so he's double jointed throughout
44:18the whole of his body so we had six months intensive physio and he finally started walking
44:23just after he was two and then once he started moving around I thought there's something not
44:31quite right here and the paediatrician was an autism specialist and so in 2014 Jack was diagnosed
44:40with moderate autism. A couple of months later he failed his hearing tests at school and I said well
44:46he's autistic he's not deaf there's no deafness in our family nobody's deaf and then in the July
44:55July 28th I was told that he's profoundly deaf on his left side and moderate deaf on his right
45:01and he's got a degenerative hearing condition and my world fell apart
45:08On average three babies are born deaf every day in the UK and more than 90% of deaf children
45:15have hearing parents who don't have any previous experience of the condition.
45:21Well a hearing disability means that a part of your ear is damaged or you're born so it means
45:30damaged or you're born so it means you can't hear anything. He's got a very rare condition
45:37it's called dilated vestibular aqueducts and endolymphatic sacs the tubes that feed
45:43sort of all the important ear parts are so delicate that they can just snap and break at any point
45:50he could wake up tomorrow we could wake up in 10 years time we just don't know
45:54but one day he will be fully deaf and um yeah that was that was a pretty devastating blow.
46:04I worry about one day um I wake up and I can't hear anything can't hear the sound of my voice
46:14can't hear my mum can't hear the world. He kept saying I'm the only person who's got hearing aids
46:23he was five and he felt like the only person
46:29and then we found out about Talking Hands. Talking Hands Deaf Children and Young People
46:37Service is a youth club part funded by BBC Children in Need. The club offers support to
46:43young people who are deaf by delivering activities and experiences which encourage them to learn
46:49develop new skills and most importantly have fun. We went into this really big hall and there
46:55was just kids playing screaming shouting I mean if people think that deaf people are quiet no
47:01no noisiest people I've ever met and Jack just ran into this room and he ran back and he said
47:08mummy mummy that boy over there he has a hearing aid like me. I saw all these children adults
47:14teenagers with hearing aids and that was just
47:20yeah very special very special because he wasn't alone anymore. I felt like I belonged somewhere
47:27and I was able to make close friends. It's so important to find a community.
47:36I made many many friends different ages they want to just have fun they just want to be
47:43their ordinary selves. The grant from BBC Children in Need funds staff and activity
47:53costs which are crucial in allowing Talking Hands Deaf Children and Young People Service
47:58to support those like Jack. It feels great because it feels like I've got another family
48:05family that I can look to if I'm having my disability and ask them any questions about it
48:13see what kind of answers they can give me. To all of us it's been phenomenally life-changing
48:21it's given us both the opportunity to meet new people but with the funding from Children in
48:27Need it's meant that we've been able to access lots of different activities that we wouldn't
48:32necessarily ordinarily be able to do. I would have felt alone I would have felt like that I
48:38would not be able to go to people for help I would not be able to learn what being deaf is
48:46all about but thanks to Talking Hands I was able to understand and what to prepare for the future.
48:59He does find it difficult and says I don't want to be deaf and I how's this gonna you know what's
49:03gonna happen to me and so you've just got to try and be as upbeat as possible every day.
49:10My hopes for the future is to become a great still motion animator
49:17and be happy happy just not letting my disabilities get a hold of me just
49:23just let myself be my happy old me.
49:25To support young people like Jack you can donate any amount online by scanning the QR code on your
49:32screen right now or head to bbc.co.uk slash country farm or to donate 5, 10, 20, 30 or 40 pounds
49:41text the word 5, 10, 20, 30 or 40 to 70705. Text will cost your donation amount plus the standard
49:52network message charge and 100% of your donation will go to BBC children in need.
49:59You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payers permission for full terms and more
50:05information go to bbc.co.uk slash country farm. Remember our ramble weekend is on Saturday the 12th
50:12and Sunday the 13th of October and make sure you register your ramble on our website.
50:19We can't wait for you to join us striding through our beautiful countryside
50:23and helping build a future for thousands of children.
50:32Details of organisations offering information and support with autism and hearing loss
50:37are available at bbc.co.uk slash action line.
50:49We're in the Scottish borders where I've been experiencing the fun
50:57and drama of the Kelso ram sale, one of the oldest and largest ram sales in Europe.
51:08I've been following Anne and her family from Kipey farm in Northumberland
51:12as they prepare their Texel and Suffolk tubs for the big sale.
51:19And there's one element that's vitally important for getting the best price.
51:24For a successful auction the one thing you really need is a brilliant auctioneer.
51:38Visit any auction and you're bound to hear the unmistakable rhythmic chant of an auctioneer at
51:44work. Andrew Hutchison has been working the rings here at Kelso for four years.
51:50Today he'll be managing the sale of Anne's tubs.
51:53What do you think of them? She's got a pair of 22 tubs and they're all fairly level.
51:58Right carcass sheeps, plenty of stretch over the back of them there, good depth at the back end.
52:02I mean that's what you want for your commercial fat lamb job. I'm very happy with them.
52:06Now when it comes to the auction I've been to a few sheep sales and honestly all I hear is
52:10minna minna minna minna minna minna and then miraculously something is sold.
52:13You're selling as quickly as possible to try and get through as many tubs as possible.
52:17Faster we sell, folk will have to bid quicker and before they know it they've paid a bit more than
52:21they hoped to have spent. And how do people bid? Is it an obvious thing or just a movement of the
52:26head? It varies. Some folk for example stand there and wave, some folk will have just a slight wink
52:32you know. You've got to remember you're playing with folk's livelihoods. They bought the tub,
52:37they bought the yow and they've tried to produce the tub to sell. You know it's a three-year process.
52:45While Anne and David's tubs are waiting to enter the sale ring
52:48they're out amongst the flogs looking for their next investment.
52:53Aye 17's a brute isn't he? Smart drum. That was the one I liked, that was 26.
52:58He's not gonna be cheap. Do you not like him because he's a peeler?
53:02Or we wait for the next lot over but see what the price is doing.
53:09So dad actually managed to buy a Suffolk already in ring 14. We've bought a Texel already here in
53:16ring 9 and possibly going to go and buy another one. I bought a Suffolk for a bargain of a thousand
53:23pounds and I've just bought a Texel from the last lot that was in at a reasonable price of 850 and
53:31also a bargain so pleased about that yeah. We've still got our own to sell yet though but we'll get there.
53:41And the boys are busy helping mum get the tubs looking their best before the sale.
53:46Morning Anne. Morning Charlie, how are you doing? It's getting a bit near. It's getting a bit busy?
53:51Yeah. So we're just giving a quick brush off, quick whitening of any dirty knees, make sure
53:56the heads are clean, make sure the noses are clean. Well I've just spoken to Andrew and he
54:00says you've got a good pen. Yeah we're actually quite happy with it. It's the biggest pen we've
54:04ever produced Texel wise. So the most rounds. Yeah. It's really fun here, it's really busy but
54:09for you this is the culmination of two years work. Yeah it is exactly that. It's a lot of hard work
54:14and effort goes into it. Right we're going to move on to the next number boys. Okay I'll let you get
54:18on. Perfect thank you very much. Maybe I'll do a tea run or something really useful.
54:29Kelso has a reputation as the country's premier ram sale.
54:33600, 600. It's an important day in the farming calendar
54:37and you can feel the nervous excitement in the air.
54:49400, 450. I've been standing here about half an hour and it's taken me that time
54:54just to work out who's bidding. Because it's such a small movement, this of a head or that.
55:07Hands up next. On to the mare family here from Caipe. Here we go. Lock Penny insured over £775
55:15for 400. I'm in the 400 bid. I'm stepping back a bit because more people are arriving so I'm
55:21hoping I'm going to buy some sheep. The sales are quick with 20 of Anne's Texel sold in just 15
55:35minutes. Dad's best friend is up next.
55:53He didn't want to part with this one.
56:05800, 850, 900, 1,000. 1,000 in the gauze here. £1,000.
56:27Dad's favourite ram didn't disappoint and after an exhausting 48 hours it's all over.
56:35Hello. How's it been? It wasn't too bad. There were some sticky moments and some higher moments
56:42so I think overall we're quite happy. 100% clearance so everything away which is what you
56:46want. It's been frantic. It's been a bit busy. But it's been a good event. It's been a good day.
56:53Yeah we can't complain. 3,772 rams have gone under the hammer with sales of almost £4 million and
57:04amongst it all Anne is delighted with their new tub for the farm. So a new addition to the family.
57:11Yes indeed. Talk me through the new ram. I'm really happy with him. So he's from another
57:15local breeder so he's not coming too far to us. Nice colour, nice black head, good length to him,
57:20good depth, good shoulder and a nice bit of bone as well so his legs a little bit heavier than the
57:26ewes that we've got so yeah we're quite happy with him. And how long will you keep him? He
57:30can be with us, goodness, three, four years depending on who we use him on. And what have
57:34you been doing when you haven't been looking after the sheep? Catching up with friends. Yeah
57:38it's a good day as per usual and it's nice to sort of catch up with everyone that you haven't seen
57:41since last year. So see you next year I guess. Indeed, absolutely. Brilliant, well thank you very much indeed.
57:53And that's it from us here at Kelso, the UK's biggest ram sale. Do join us next week though
57:59when Adam and myself will be at the UK's biggest sheepdog trial.
58:06So they have to get one group of sheep, bring them down, leave them and then go up the hill
58:10to that other group of sheep and then put the two together. Yeah, you've got 30 minutes. That just
58:15seems like an impossible task. This isn't going according to plan. The first lot that didn't go
58:22through the gate then ran off. Yes! I think that was mainly our willpower. I think so. Kevin should thank you.
58:34Hope you can join us then, bye-bye.
58:40Aussie rom-com laughs and emotion in Colin from Accounts on BBC iPlayer Now, press red to watch.
58:46Scott Mills and Ryland Rank iconic music and pop culture moments just for you
58:51in their pop top 10. Listen on Sounds. NX Antiques Roadshow.