A Life in Farming
24th July 2023
A familiar face at the NSA Wales & Border Ram Sales, Tom Evans MBE will be launching his
autobiography at the Royal Welsh Show.
The voice of Welsh Shearing, Tom is perhaps best known for his role as shearing commentator at the
Royal Welsh Show. He was also one of the founding members of the ram sales, held each August and
September at the Royal Welsh Showground.
Tom says Welsh farmers have lot to thank the ram sale for, bringing rams to a centre where people from
all over Wales and beyond can trade. Buyers have the choice of top tups from across the UK and can
pick out three or four rams for the season.
He says: “I inspected rams there for 15 years, soon after they began. I started with Terry Boundy. He was
a character.
“It was hard work and sometimes it wasn’t nice, going through peoples’ stock looking for trouble. You
had to watch for overshot teeth and you had to be diplomatic. But it was a good thing, the sale, you
could look at different breeds together and see who had what.
“The buyers and vendors come from a wide area and there is something to suit everyone. There are the
commercial rams and you can pay a bit more for quality. The amount of work that goes into producing a
good ram, they need to fetch money. The costs are unbelievable.
“Ram feed is £450 to £500 a ton now and a good ram lamb will eat a ton of feed in first 12 months!
Costs have doubles in the last few years.”
Tom says the NSA Wales & Border Ram Sales have given farmers a chance to see other breeds and try
them on their farms, without the expense of travelling far. It had been good to see other breeds brought
in and see if they work. Sheep farming hadn’t changed much over the years in Mid Wales until the sales
started at the end of the 1970s.
Note: Tom Evans’s book, A Life in Farming, will be available at the Royal Welsh Show and is published by
Y Lolfa
The NSA Wales & Border Ram Sales Early Sale will be held at the Royal Welsh Showground on Monday
7 th August 2023.
The Main Sale will take place at the Royal Welsh Showground on Monday 18 th September 2023.
Sent by [email protected] 07872823366
