Three key industry figures were honoured at NSA Sheep Event dinner staged the evening before the big day at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern.

It provided the perfect opportunity to formally present Helen Roberts, a sheep farmer from mid-Wales, with the NSA George Hedley Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to the sheep sector. Helen was announced as the 2021 winner in January this year and, with many industry roles to her name, not least organising the NSA Sheep Event, it was apt to present her with the specially sculpted Cheviot sheep statue in front of friends, colleagues and peers.

Dan Phipps, NSA chairman, praised Helen for her passion for all elements of sheep farming – from working alongside her father from a young age to breeding pedigree Suffolks, and running purebred and commercial stock with husband Clive at Selattyn on the England/Wales border near Oswestry, through to representing Welsh sheep farmers through various roles, including with NSA Cymru/Wales Region and Welsh Lamb and Beef Producers.

In addition, Helen works as NSA corporate sales manager and organises both the NSA Sheep Event and NSA Welsh Sheep.

The NSA Bob Payne Memorial Award for Unsung Hero was also presented for the first time since 2018. Specially selected from amongst the hundreds of volunteers and officeholders who are at the heart of NSA, the prize went jointly to husband-and-wife team Jonathan and Carroll Barber of Wymondham, Norfolk.

Jonathan has been active with NSA for a great many years, including a stint as NSA chairman, but the award was specifically for his role as NSA Eastern Region manager – performed with a huge amount of support from Carroll – and from which he is retiring in October 2022.

The evening culminated with a charity raffle for the Farming Community Network (FCN) and time for guests to network ahead of NSA Sheep 2022 the next day.

LEADING awards

Stand competitions – Best outdoor stand – 1, McVeigh Parker & Co Ltd; 2, StowAg; 3, McCartneys LLP.

Best indoor stand – 1, AHDB Beef & Lamb; 2, Oliver Seeds; 3, Paul G Slater.

Breed Society stand – 1, Texel Sheep Society; 2, Blackface Sheep Breeders’ Association; 3, North Country Cheviot Sheep Society.

Best Pen of Sheep – 1, Texel Sheep Society; 2, Logie Durno Sheep; 3, Charollais Sheep Society

National carcase selection – 1, Tomos Glyn Davies, Len Pryon, Denbigh; 2, Cherry Robinson, Sneachill Farm Worcester.

NSA Next Generation Shepherd of the Year – 1, Cameron Farman, Eastern Region; 2, Clover Crosse, South-East Region; 3, Thomas Watson, Northern Region; 4, Matthew Fearon, Northern Region; 5, Thomas Garlick, Marches Region; 6, Harry Maiden, Central Region. Highest Placed 21-year-old – Thomas Garlick, Marches Region.

Tornado Wire Fencing – 1, MJ Evans Fencing, Leominster; 2, HVB Fencing, Stoke-on-Trent & Morgan Fencing; 3, PDC Contracting & SRM Fencing, Pembrokeshire

Inventions

Trade class – 1, Eadie Bros, Selkirk – 'Lamb Castration Clip with ClipFitter'; 2, Cotter Agritech, Ireland – 'Cotter Crate'; 3, Rurtec, New Zealand – 'SmartWorm TST App'

Farmer class – 1, Robert Laird, Biggar, Lanarkshire – 'Rollover Crate'; 2, David Sullivan, Ibthorpe, Andover – 'Belt worn rubbering dispenser'

NFYFC Team Shearing – Junior – 1, Luke and Ross Parkhouse, South-West Region; 2, Cameron Farman and Tilly Abbott, Eastern Region; 3, Thomas Garlick and Ben Edwards, Marches Region. Senior – 1 and overall, Tom Hadley and Joe Pritchard, Marches Region; 2, David Watkins and Jamie Bevan, Marches Region; 3, Robyn Hardman and Chris Potter, Marches Region

Fleece – Class 1 – Fine (Including Down, Down Cross and Portland) – 1, Miss Y Hoskins, Woolaston, Gloucestershire, (94); 2, D Wilkins, Hooke, Dorset, (91).

Class 2 – Medium (Including Halfbred, Kent, Texel and Lleyn) – 1, Horne and Son, Westwell, Kent, (93); 2, Horne and Son, (91).

Class 3 – Cross (Including Masham, Mule and Greyface) – 1, KA Liddle and Partners, Home Farm, Stainburn, N Yorkshire, (93); 2, KA Liddle and Partners, (92).

Class 4 – Lustre (Including Wensleydale, Lincoln, Devon, Cotswold and Bluefaced Leicester) – 1, E Owen, Llanddoged, Denbighshire, (92); 2, Ms D Stanhope, Hanwood, Shrewsbury, (91).

Class 5 – Hill (Including Radnor, Improved Welsh, Cheviot, Exmoor, Gritstone and Lonk) – 1, R Harding, Wheddon Cross, Somerset, (92); 2, R Harding, (91).

Class 6 – Mountain (including Swaledale, Dalesbred, Blackface, Rough Fell and Welsh) – 1, KA Liddle & Partners, (93); 2, E Owen. (95).

Class 7 – Natural Coloured (Including Jacob, Herdwick, & Black Welsh Mountain or any other natural coloured pure bred or cross bred fleece) – 1 and champion, Miss Y Hoskins, (96); 2 and reserve, E Owen, (95).