On this week's episode, Tim Gole shares how sheep farmers can increase their profits by shifting from responding to problems to preventing them in the first place.

Tim runs ForFlocksSake, a vet-based sheep consultancy company. After a lightbulb moment during the drought, Tim became a self-confessed sheep fanatic.

With both Tim and Mark clearly in their element, they spend nearly an hour talking all things sheep. They discuss lifetime ewe programs, scanning strategies, the use of genetics to make production easier and more profitable, and the benefits and drawbacks of EID. They also cover reproductive efficiency, worm control lessons and lots of other sheep-related topics. 

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

What do the genetics of tail length and the genetics of semen quality have in common? Not much, except that our guest, Marnie Hodge, Sheep Genetics Senior Development Officer, has researched them both.

Tail length is moderately to highly heritable, but in her research, Marnie found that measuring tail length in centimetres versus a scored system gives you far more accuracy and picks up significantly more genetic variation, which means faster rates of genetic gain if you're selecting for it.

But what's actually changing when tails get shorter? Are we dropping vertebrae or just shortening bones? And what about correlations with body structure? Marnie explains what we know, what we don't, and why we don't have a tail length breeding value quite yet. 

On the opposite end of the scale, as with all reproduction traits, semen quality is lowly heritable. Marnie's research, "Heritability and Genetic Parameters for Semen Traits in Australian Sheep", showed that most of the variation in AI success wasn't down to motility, but more down to the variation in ewe management on each farm. So what does that mean for the establishment of a potential future breeding value? Marnie explains on the podcast. 

Plus Marnie gives us some updates on what's coming from Sheep Genetics and the combined analysis.

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

How simple rotations and tight feed management lift whole farm performance.

Mark chats with Bevan Ravenhill, WA General Manager for Lawson Angus  WA, to talk about what really drives a productive grazing business. Bevan grew up on a dairy farm, and that early training in grass, rotation, and pressure has shaped the way he now runs sheep and beef across a mixed enterprise.

Bevan explains how a simple rotation, tight feed management and a focus on leaf stage have transformed grass utilisation on the farm. He talks through how their accelerated lambing system works in practice, why confinement feeding has become such a reliable tool, and how silage underpins the whole engine when feed becomes tight.

On the cattle side, Bevan shares the shift to moderate, efficient Angus cows and the lessons learnt from years of collecting real on-farm data. He digs into maternal efficiency, cow size, raw phenotypes and why consistency matters more than chasing extremes. They also cover spring calving, OptiWeigh and the role of pressure testing cattle rather than compensating for them.

Tune in to hear some great insights from someone who has spent a lifetime thinking about how to turn grass into kilograms.

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

Ever wondered what it takes to build a succesfull seedstock buisness from the ground up? Well, this is the podcast for you. 

This week, Mark chats with Jasmine and Hayden Green, owners of Summit Livestock, about how they built their Angus and Limousin seedstock business from the ground up (and the challenges they faced), the importance of crossbreeding for production, how they balance phenotype with data, and the challenges of getting started without your own land.

Jasmine and Hayden have built a successful dual-breed business, and they run us through the decision to run both breeds and the advantages of crossbreeding for both themselves and their clients. They also discuss the importance of embryo transfer in expanding their herd while keeping genetic quality at the forefront.

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

Accounting may not be every farmer’s favourite topic, but it is one of the most powerful tools on the farm. This week’s Head Shepherd guest, David Egerton-Warburton, explains why.

Raised on a sixth-generation farm in Kojonup, Western Australia, David learned early that every on-farm decision ties back to sound business practice. His father, Kent, founded Agrimaster in 1981, bringing farm records into the computer age long before most households had a computer, and David and his wife have been joint CEOs since 2001.

David and Mark Ferguson discuss budgeting, risk control and decision making, and why financial literacy separates good farmers from great farming businesses. As David says, “The most successful growers aren’t that much better from a production point of view… what we really see is the difference in the ability to take risks because they can control them.” 

Listen to the episode to learn how to turn your farm numbers into a roadmap for success and take control of the risks that matter.

https://www.agrimaster.com.au/

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

What makes farmers change? And what holds them back? Our guest this week, Dr Ruth Nettle, has spent 25 years studying just that. Ruth has spent her career looking into how people in agriculture learn, adapt, and lead.

Now leading the Rural Innovation Research Group at the University of Melbourne, Ruth has seen how agricultural extension, advisory networks, and rural communities have evolved through time. In this episode, she and Ferg chat about trust, workforce challenges, and what the future of extension looks like in a more commercial and tech-driven world.

They talk about what makes a great employer in agriculture, why a positive team culture matters more than pay, and how farms can attract and retain staff in a global skills shortage. Ruth also shares her thoughts on AI in agriculture, the importance of human-to-human learning, and what Australia could take from extension systems overseas.

If you work with farmers, lead a team, or care about the people side of farming, this episode offers great insight into agricultural workforce development, rural leadership, and the evolving role of extension in agriculture today.

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

Want to know more about meat-eating quality traits like IMF, shear force and marbling? Our guest this week, Dr Peter McGilchrist, is a leading meat scientist and professor at the University of New England, Australia, likely has the answers you're looking for. 

Peter and Mark talk all things meat-eating quality and how the red meat industry can move beyond commodity pricing by identifying premium quality products through genetics, processing, and proper animal handling. 

Peter and Mark discuss the importance of keeping an eye on IMF and shear force so that lamb doesn't "end up like pork," as well as the importance of early marbling and how we can genetically impact all three of these things. 

Pete also treats us to a quick biochemistry lesson explaining the science of cold-shortening as well as insights on recent trial work he's been involved with on the impacts of feeding sheep pre-slaughter on eating quality.

This podcast is a masterclass on the various aspects of red meat eating quality and is one not to miss! 

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

Ever wished you could get breeding values on your commercial Merinos without having to record weights, dates or pedigrees?

This week, we’re launching neXtPredict, our brand new genomic tool that lets you go straight from DNA to breeding values with just a simple TSU sample.

Developed in partnership with Weatherbys Scientific, neXtPredict provides base genomic breeding values, parentage, poll/horn testing and a flock profile for Merino breeders. It’s powered by the MerinoSelect database and backed by MLA-funded research through AGBU and Sheep Genetics.

To announce the launch this week on the podcast, Ferg chats with Tamarah Luxton, Territory Manager at Weatherbys Scientific. Tamarah shares the story of Weatherbys’ journey from managing thoroughbred pedigrees in Ireland to providing cutting-edge genomic testing for livestock across Australia. 

neXtPredict has three service tiers, designed to suit everyone from large commercial breeders to data-driven operations wanting deeper insights.

• CORE gives you access to the neXtPredict Portal, where you can view gBVs, parentage, poll/horn, flock profiles and indexes, and filter or rank animals on standard industry indexes or generic neXtgen Agri indexes.
• PLUS includes everything in CORE, plus trait correlation analysis, the creation of custom indexes, and one-on-one support from the neXtgen Agri team.
• PRO adds long-term data storage, the ability to include non-genomic traits (like wool quality or dag scores), view multi-year data, and work directly with our consultants on testing strategies and optimisation.

If you are interested in using neXtPredict, get in touch with us here at neXtgen Agri:

[email protected]

Or with Weatherbys Scientific:

[email protected]

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

What do you get when three sheep consultants, all podcast hosts, from Australia, England and Wales sit down in front of a microphone? You get a very entertaining, slightly chaotic, sheepy podcast!

This week, we're joined by Liz Genever and Nerys Wright to discuss the launch of OptiEwe UK as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by farmers over there. 

Liz, Nerys and Ferg chat about this summer's extremely dry weather, current lamb prices, shifts in farming practices (and the role of genetics in those shifts), as well as the difficulties of the ever-changing government policies.

Liz and Nerys are launching OptiEwe UK next week, and we're excited to continue working with them over the next few years! 

Tune into their podcast by searching "The Sheep Geeks". You can catch their episode with Mark here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/episode-11-talking-to-mark-ferg-ferguson-about-optiewe/id1777227463?i=1000726635865.

If you're interested in starting or attending an OptiEwe discussion group in New Zealand, get in touch with Sophie at [email protected].

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

Is drench resistance an issue on your property? Thanks to modern technology, we have tools at our disposal to help.

This week's guest is Ryan Luckman, vet and founder of DAGI, (Drench and Grazing Integration), an app that displays the risk of larval challenge/resistance risk for the paddocks on your farm, helping you make better grazing decisions. 

With the help of industry experts and the support of B+LNZ, Ryan has been building the DAGI (Drench And Grazing Integration) app over the past 2 years. 

Ryan talks us through the app and how it works on farm, as well as discussing the state of drench resistance in New Zealand. He and Ferg also discuss the topic of refugia and how this is all about the genetics of the worm population on your farm. 

Take a look at DAGI here:

https://www.dagi.nz/why-dagi

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: [email protected].

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE