Cold snap, heavy snowfall threaten British sheep farmers

Farmers in Wales and throughout the United Kingdom are facing extreme feed shortages and loss of livestock after severe cold weather conditions, including heavy snowfall.

"It's the worst we've known at this time of year since 1966 when I left school," Emyr Jones, a sheep farmer who serves as president of the Farmers Union of Wales, told the Guardian.

As the snow melts, the dead bodies of thousands of newborn lambs and pregnant ewes are being uncovered, according to the Guardian.

The cold snap is another economic burden on farmers who have been struggling with bad weather all year.

"The snow and blizzards are creating real hazards for upland farmers as they come into lambing season, but livestock farmers across the board are facing the prospect of paying for more feed, with prices already astronomically high," Victoria Harris, director of the charity Prince’s Countryside Fund, said in a press release.

The organization is donating more than $330,000 from its emergency relief fund to help farm organizations. However, Harris is concerned that this will not be enough to help farmers get back on their feet. 

"With the last 12 months of adverse conditions, expectations had been high for a good spring," she said. "We are still waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel."

The weather has the potential to affect food supply as well, according to industry publication The Grocer.

"We could be looking at proper shortages,” Rich Clothier, managing director of Wyke Farms, said. “The sad thing is, there is bigger demand for British-made products because of the horsemeat scandal, and we may not be able to meet that.”