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Sheep farmers in Ireland have another option when it comes to sheep handling with equipment from British company Rappa recently coming on to the market.
Tyrone man Cathal Harkin, who many Scottish Blackface sheep breeders will know through the Loughash Blackface flock, is the approved Rappa distributor offering the company’s mobile yards in Ireland.
Cathal says that the yards manufactured in Hampshire have been developed with a focus on ease of use, speed of setup and longevity.
“All components are manufactured by hand at Rappa’s headquarters. The aluminium is heat-treated giving strength and lightness for effortless setup and dismantling.”
Six types of handling yards
There are currently six types of sheep handling yards, split across three series, with the Series 8 yards targeted at small holdings of less than 70 sheep, Series 10 at medium-sized flocks between 100 and 500 sheep and Series 12 for large flocks handling over 750 sheep.
Larger units come with a longer race and are given stability by additional spreaders, gates and hurdle support posts.
Cathal says that each yard can be designed with the needs of the individual sheep farmer in mind with all Rappa components interchangeable.
“All Rappa components are manufactured to a standard specification. We have farmers who start off with a basic setup and over time purchase more equipment such as hurdles, guillotine gates or panels to handle a higher number of sheep as their flock grows."
"Mobile yards can offer benefits not seen by the traditional static hurdle systems that some farms have in place.
"With the benefits of extra biosecurity and manoeuvrability the yard becomes a business asset which can be moved with each farmer, particularly useful for those on rented or leased land and contractors,” says Cathal.
Size
Table 1 details the components of each yard as well as a brief description. Series 8 yards, used mainly for smaller flocks, are not suitable for towing on a road.
The Series 10 yards are the most popular and consist of a trailer which forms the base yard, while the Series 12 is the largest and heaviest yard and as such comes on a braked trailer.
Standard 5ft hurdles cost in the region of €138 (£126) excluding VAT, while the 6ft hurdle costs €149 (£136) and the 7ft (€162) £148.
Cathal says the weakening in the sterling to euro has generated higher levels of interest in the Rappa mobile sheep yards.
The yards are also approved by the Department of Agriculture for grant aid under TAMS II, meaning grant aid of 40% for standard applications and 60% for eligible young trained farmers is potentially available.
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