Under Wenlock Edge, a new lamb has just been born. Tiny and wet, he struggles to his feet. The ewe licks and nibbles at his wool to dry him. His eyes still shut, instinct drives him to suckle, but he is not quite sure where yet. I wait anxiously in the cold. If the lamb does not suckle he will die of cold and starvation, unless I can get him to feed on a bottle. Every lamb lost means lost income in this work-intensive, low profit-making industry.

With a total of 34m sheep from 70 different breeds, the UK is the EU’s largest sheep producer, according to 2007 figures from the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs. From this, 34m kg of wool is produced and graded into more than 100 categories, from Bluefaced Leicester wool to the coarser Welsh Cast, Red Kempy and Light Grey Welsh wool from my own sheep.