A record-breaking Texel ram is one thing, but farmers across the country are facing a tough time

Double Diamond, a Texel ram, has just sold at auction in Scotland for a record-breaking £367,500. He was bought by three bidders who will no doubt use this magnificent animal to sire hundreds of offspring.

Texels are renowned for the quality of their meat, but Double Diamond will have to keep very busy to pay off the investment over the next few years. The average price paid for a lamb at auction in the UK is just £100, and sheep farmers are having a tough time currently because the price paid for British wool has plummeted to the lowest levels since 2008.

It’s mostly used for carpets and a small amount for men’s suiting and because lockdown has forced shops to close for months, demand has dropped.

The biggest customers for British wool were the hotel industry, cruise ships and interior designers, but these industries are not yet fully functioning, and so there is a glut.

Some farmers are shearing their flock and then turning the fleeces into compost or burning them – which is environmentally damaging. But these are desperate times for the farming industry with the price of milk at rock bottom and the restaurant business still in the early stages of recovery.

Meanwhile, Brexit could mean that British meat faces even more competition from cheap imports. Who would be a farmer.