Brit farmers in race to fatten lambs

In the Devonshire countryside, sheep farmer Bryan Griffiths is trying to beat the Brexit clock – his flock is on a high-calorie diet.

Griffiths wants them to be fat enough for sale before October 31 in case Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, closing off the main export market and causing prices to plunge.

Griffiths, who tends about 900 sheep, has spent extra money this year buying concentrated feed.

‘‘I am just trying to push forward the sales a bit, if I can, to avoid being caught with too many if disaster strikes,’’ he said.

‘‘It is a calculated risk.’’ With Prime Minister Boris Johnson promising to pull Britain out of the EU with or without a trade deal, the timing is worrying some British farmers.

Sheep are usually born in the spring and reared outside in the summer months, then sold for slaughter in the autumn, meaning a no-deal Brexit could potentially happen when most lambs come up for sale.

Currently, almost all British exports of sheep meat are sent to the continent. If Britain leaves without a deal, those sales face tariffs exceeding 40 per cent, which would stop almost all the trade, according to Britain’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

‘‘It will bankrupt quite a few people,’’ said Antony Spencer, who farms in Warwickshire.

He estimated that as much as 95 per cent of the annual hillfarming income comes from October to December. Several nearby farms had tried to quicken the fattening process and sell as many lambs as possible before the October deadline, he said.

In North Yorkshire, Richard Findlay has already sold 200 sheep and is worried the weak pound means it is getting more expensive to buy imported goods, like fertiliser.

For other farmers, there is not much that can be done before October. John Davies, president of the Welsh National Farmers Union and owner of 1000 ewes in the Brecon countryside, said once the animals were in prime condition, they had to be sold.

‘‘We’re looking for some level of support to get us through what we hope is a temporary political blip,’’ said Griffiths.