AN EXPERIENCED farmer and owner of award-winning pedigree sheep, has said he’s found success with using homeopathic remedies on his stock.

Lester Peel, who farms at Over Silton, near Osmotherley with his wife Sue and son James, this year was awarded the J Parlour & Son Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the Champion Suffolk at Sunday’s North Yorkshire County Show.

Mr Peel, who has been sheep farming for about 40 years, said it has been a particularly difficult 12 months for sheep farmers. He lost more than 20 lambs to the Schmallenberg virus.

He said they also struggled with worm infestations amongst the flock last year.

But at the beginning of this year he decided to turn to the complementary therapy homeopathy. He says so far he has seen positive results from the homeopathic remedies he has fed his flock.

He said: “Schmallenberg has been very bad round here. But I think with having it has bad as we did, hopefully we’ve built up a resistance now.

“But I’m going more down the homeopathic route. Most of my sheep this year have had a proprietary wormer and a homeopathic wormer.

“Up til now we’ve not been hit by anything and if I can stick with it, we should hopefully again build up a resistance. I’ve recommended it to a lot of other people for various things, as it appears to be working.

“I’m seeing the results. I think a lot of people turn to methods such as this but tend to keep mum about it. But to me, if it works, then that’s all that matters.”