Sheep equipment and technology company Cotter Agritech, together with expert speakers and trade stands from the National Sheep Association Northern Ireland, CAFRE, Elanco, Parklands Veterinary Group, TGM Software Solutions and BT Brotech by Sheep School, are running a series of open days in Northern Ireland on September 1st and 2nd. The theme is “equipment, data and advice to protect and improve flock performance on a modern sheep farm”.
Each open day will feature a farm walk, an in-depth look at the farm’s handling facilities, a showcase of the latest sheep equipment and technology from Cotter Agritech, TGM and BT Brotech by Sheep School, interactive speaker sessions on performance data, dog worrying and drench resistance, and a number of trade stands.
The September 1st open day will take place at Martin Blaney’s farm in Cushendun, Co. Antrim, where Martin runs 500 Lanark Blackface and Mule ewes and 40 sucklers on hill ground. He had been working with a mobile race and basic handling pens, and invested in a Cotter Crate to take the hardship out of the work and get every job done in one pass.
The September 2nd open day will take place at Paul McSwiggan’s farm outside Swatragh, Co. Derry, where Paul farms alongside his son Tiernan. They run 550 horned Lanark-type ewes along with Swaledales and Lleyns on hill ground at the foot of the Sperrins. Paul chose a Cotter Crate because it needed no generator or hydraulics on an out farm with no electricity supply. Tailing the ewes, once two days’ work, now takes about three hours.
Each event starts at 5.30pm with a farm walk. Edward Adamson (NSA Northern Ireland) will facilitate in Cushendun and Dr Eileen McCloskey (CAFRE) in Swatragh, covering 2026 lambing performance, flock KPIs, grassland management, what’s working well and what the challenges are, and future plans.
Participants then move to the handling area for a live demonstration of the Cotter Crate Sheep + Lamb Handler, the Automed automatic dosing gun and the company’s new curved lead-up race options. Nick Cotter will also cover the SFIS grant and how to get the most from it.
George McGarry of TGM Software Solutions follows, on getting the most out of sheep weight and EID data to breed more profitable sheep.
David Beattie and Rob Beattie of BT Brotech by Sheep School, the farming YouTube channel with a large following, will then demonstrate Sheep Guardian, a collar that detects dog worrying and notifies the farmer immediately.
Parklands Veterinary Group will cover drench resistance and barber’s pole worm, with an in-depth look at quarantine protocol for bought-in sheep and how technology helps avoid over- and under-dosing. Elanco and Cotter Agritech will be on hand at their stands for questions afterwards.
A live Q&A panel with all of the speakers closes each evening, wrapping up at 8.00pm.
The Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme closes on Thursday September 3rd, the day after the second open day, so both events are a chance to see the eligible equipment working and ask questions before the deadline. The scheme offers 40% grant aid.
For the full info and to register click here - https://www.cotteragritech.com/pages/2026-summer-open-day-series. To register by phone, call or WhatsApp +353 86 330 1490.
All are welcome to attend.
