THERE is plenty to be debated at next week's Trident Feeds' Northern and Borders sheep fair at Hexham mart.

Scrapie; identification and tagging; transport; wool marketing; parasite control; lamb price prospects; the CAP review implications; fallen stock, and the outlook for the new lambing season as all likely to be discussed at Thursday's event, which draws sheep farmers from all over the North of England and Southern Scotland.

John Thorley, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, will officially open the day at 10am and, at 11.15, will speak on the political situation surrounding the industry from a Mid-Term Review perspective.

Earlier, at 10.30, Norman Kyle on behalf of Eblex, will give a butchery demonstration on the merits of lean as opposed to fat lambs. John Vipond, senior sheep specialist from the Scottish Agricultural College, will round off the morning seminar at 12.15 on the subject of "doing what you are doing better".

The seminars are repeated in afternoon, at 1.30 (Eblex), 2.15 (NSA) and 3pm (SAC).

There will also be more than 50 stands, and many companies will use the fair to launch new products and services.

Trident Feeds is giving away 20 Beetlic buckets and 200 of its popular sheep planners and diaries to the first farmers to visit its stand.

"Sheep farmers have had a good run in terms of prices in recent months and this may have masked some of the more pressing issues in the industry. There's certainly plenty to discuss," said George Perrott, marketing manager of Trident Feeds, which is organising and sponsoring the event for the third time.

The fair runs from 9.30-4pm; admission is free