Hill sheep farmer Seamus McDonnell from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, has made a fantastic start to 2025 having been drawn as the lucky winner of the 2024 National Sheep Association (NSA) prize giveaway.

Seamus, alongside wife Bernie, collected his prize of a Nugent L3618H 12ft livestock trailer, kindly provided by Nugent Engineering Ltd, and met with NSA Northern Ireland Chairman Alistair Armstrong this week (pictured below). He comments: “The news we had won came as a complete surprise.  I’m absolutely delighted. It’s been a great start to the new year and it will certainly make life on the farm much easier.” 

Seamus farms a mixed enterprise of Texel Mule and Suffolk cross ewes, and suckler cattle on the Causeway coast and Glens area. He explains: “We farm breeds that are long established in my area and over the years have become resilient to the harsh winters we often have to endure on the North coast of Northern Ireland.” 

The farm will no doubt benefit from the fantastic prize that was promoted throughout 2024 via NSA communications and events. Seamus adds: “My current trailer is old and has certainly seen better days. This trailer has an advanced decking system which will a great benefit to me since I work a lot on my own. It will be much safer and more reliable for transporting livestock in general. I’m very much looking forward to getting it home.”

NSA was able to offer members and contacts the chance to win the prize, worth more than £9,500 thanks to generous support from Nugent Engineering Ltd that hails from an agricultural family background. Initially designed to withstand the vigour of livestock and rugged terrain, the Nugent Livestock range is engineered and hand built to last.

A spokesperson for Nugent Ltd said: “Nugent was delighted to partner with NSA to offer one lucky winner the chance to win a brand-new Livestock trailer last year. We had the pleasure of welcoming Seamus and Bernie McDonnell to our headquarters to present them with their new Nugent LS3618H. The McDonnells had the opportunity to view the production lines at Nugent and see how the trailers are manufactured. At Nugent, we have always been committed to supporting the agricultural community, and this partnership was a fantastic opportunity to give back to hardworking farmers.”

NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker says: “NSA was delighted to be able to offer this brilliant prize to the nation’s sheep farmers in 2024. Our sincere thanks go to Nugent Engineering Ltd for making this possible with their generous sponsorship of the giveaway.”

Fantastic prize draws are just one of the benefits NSA offers its members and other members of the UK's sheep farming community. NSA strives to act as a voice for the sector, therefore, every membership counts, strengthening NSA’s mandate to speak on behalf of the industry. 

The 2025 prize draw has recently launched. For information on this, NSA membership, and full terms and conditions of NSA prize draws please visit www.nationalsheep.org.uk/draw.