SHEEP exports, share farming and animal health are among the topics to be discussed at North Sheep next month.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) event is at New Hall Farm, Settle, on Wednesday, June 5, and has an impressive line-up of speakers for the seminars.

Eddie Eastham, chairman of the NSA policy and technical committee, said: "The themes have been specially chosen as we feel they are relevant at this time. Our aim is to keep our farmers up to date, and our speakers will have the latest in-depth information on the areas which they represent.

"Those on the sheep exports panel are involved in exports at the sharp end. As we cannot foresee what the position will be by June there will be some clarification one way or the other and they will update us.

"The future of the environmental schemes is part of the Agriculture Bill and, although we know the outline, we don't know the details so this

seminar will look into that and how further programmes will develop."

Robyn Peat and Simon Britton, of sponsors George F White, will discuss share farming and/or obtaining a tenancy.

Sheep exports will follow with speakers including Phil Hadley, international market development director at AHDB; Mike Gooding, director at Farmers Fresh, a farmer-owned abattoir supplying lamb carcases and cuts to Europe since 2000; and Rizvan Khalid, managing director of Euro Quality Lambs.

The future for environment land management schemes will feature Adrian Shepherd, head of land management at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority; Julia Aglionby, from the Foundation for Common Land; Thomas Binns, NFU uplands chairman; and James Le Page, Defra senior civil servant taxed with designing a post-Brexit environmental land management system.

The final seminar will be on sheep health and welfare. It will feature Christine Middlemiss, Defra's chief vet; Fiona Lovat, highly respected experienced sheep vet; Sarah Baker, AHDB strategic insight manager; and Robin Manning, who has worked in Brussels as an agricultural policy expert at the European Commission and who is now part of Defra's future farming land use team.

Simon Britton, partner at George F White, said: "You need to be a top performing farming business to reduce the impact of Brexit and a reduction in direct payments. One characteristic of a top performing farming business, whether livestock or arable, is attending events, seminars and knowledge transfer.

"I can guarantee when you come to NSA North Sheep and attend one of the seminars, you will learn something new and take this information away and benefit from it."

North Sheep also features demonstrations, trade stands and breed societies and expects to attract 8,000 visitors.