Moor money
If we look at the economics of my moorland, each ewe will have an average of 1.5 lambs worth £40 each in the market. So each ewe can produce £60 income. You can have one sheep on four acres of moor without doing damage to the land. You can have a pair of grouse on four acres and they average six or seven young. Their value is from £80 to £100 per bird each. For a thousand acres of moorland you can earn £15,000 from sheep, or £120,000 from grouse.
On a well-farmed moor, grouse provide a much better return. In addition, whereas for 1,000 ewes you need one full-time worker, you need a full-time worker for every 500 brace of grouse. Because grouse produce such a good return, you employ more staff and they have
