The Luhrs family farm near Cavendish in Western Victoria.  Ricky and his wife Marni farm with Russell, Ricky's dad.  They have two speeds, flat out and asleep.  They are always thinking about extracting the next few percent out of the business through strategic management, pasture performance and genetics.   If what they need doesn't exist on the market they build it.  I'm sure you'll enjoy the banter, openness and energy of this episode.

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

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

This week on the Head Shepherd podcast Mark speaks with Brendon Savage from Western Australia. Brendon has a great insight on soils and pasture after spending the past few years improving his pastures via various, slightly different methods with the goal of producing the same, with less.

Brendon also upped his sheep numbers to take his business to 50:50 crop to sheep which isn't common in the area in which Brendon lives. This is to take the typical highs and lows out of his farming system. Brendon focuses on higher fertility so that he can have less sheep in the Autumn, and more during Spring.

This week is really a podcast to get you thinking about how to make the most of your business, whilst also looking to the future for the changes that may be coming to the Agricultural industry.


Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

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

Welcome back to the Head Shepherd podcast. This week we have Todd Burger from the Western Districts of Victoria. Todd farms his merino sheep a little differently.

After being frustrated with the lack of maternal behavior in his ewes, he decided to do something different. Todd intensively manages around 700 of his 7,000 ewes around lambing time. This means shedding up at night, temporary shelters and more.

Mark and Todd cover the new genetics and AI that has been implemented recently, and the changes that has brought to Todds farming business. 

We hope this podcast gets you thinking!

We have upcoming Farm Fit Ewes workshops coming up in Victoria.
The workshops cover breeding and feeding of ewes, and optimizing your production system.
It is free to member's and $250 for non-members.
Below are the dates and locations.
Farm Fit Ewes at Burnbrae Poll Merino Stud 28th June 2021 at 1pm
Farm Fit Ewes at Hannaton Poll Merinos & White Suffolks 29th June 2021 at 1pm
Farm Fit Ewes at Firgrove Poll Merino Stud 30th June 2021 at 1pm


Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

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

Welcome back to Season 4 of the Head Shepherd podcast! We'd like to say thank you for all of your support in the past and we cannot wait to share this season's guests with you.

This week, we start things off with a bang. Mark chats with Bill Malcolm who has been a professor at Melbourne University since 1980. Mark actually grew up close to Bill in the Mallee, and Bill also taught Mark economics at university.

Bill is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to agricultural, farm and resource economics and agribusiness.

We discuss optimum vs maximum and how really, it all comes down to productivity, and a big key part of that is appropriate and well funded R&D, something Bill believes has been lacking in Agriculture in the past 30 years.

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

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

For our final episode of Season 3, we are excited to discuss Genesmith,  a startup within neXtgen Agri.

Mark catches up with Ian Harris, Electronics and Data Science Manager at neXtgen Agri who, along side Ali Alqassab and Jack Zarifeh, are developing facial recognition cameras to apply the power of machine learning to the livestock industry.  We are starting with matching lambs and ewes, in the paddock at a commercial scale.  We believe this will unlock an enormous opportunity in the sheep industry.

This is a fascinating insight into the future of the industry and where tech might take us.

If you'd like to know more about Genesmith, you can visit the website here

https://www.genesmith.ai/

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

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

This week on the Head Shepherd podcast, we decided to offer the mic over to you to answer your questions.
We put a call out on various social media platforms and we had a great response. We had lots of questions ranging from wool vs shedding sheep, to the use of AI and Face Recognition in farming.

It is always great to hear Marks opinion on these things and as ever, it's a podcast to get you thinking.

Find us on social at
Twitter:  @neXtgenAgri
Facebook: @nextgenagri

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

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

Mark first came across Moojepin Merinos, a Merino stud near Badgebup in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia, fifteen years ago whilst looking for some high growth merinos. This week, Mark discusses what's going on at Moojepin with Hamish Thompson, stud co-principal and third generation on the farm.

After Hamish's father David Thompson, was told joining merino ewe lambs was impossible, he set his mind to the task. Ten years later, Moojepin are mating ewe lambs at 7 months, at the same time as their ewes, to make the most of their incredibly short growing season.

The country that the Thompsons farm in Western Australia is tough going with a constant battle with salinity. Hamish discusses how they tackle this and where they see the farm and stud going in the future. 

If you would like to learn more about either Moojepin Foods or the stud, you can find them at the links below

www.moojepin.com
www.moojepinfoods.com

Twitter: MoojepinMerinos
Facebook: MoojepinMerinos

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com


 

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

Julia Jones shares her optimistic outlook on the future of the Agriculture industry this week.

Julia grew up on the West Coast of the South Island of NZ, riding a horse to school. Now, Julia is head of Analytics at NZX, New Zealand's Exchange.

With an infectious, positive view on life, Julia covers what she sees happening in the future of our industry, and the world.

 
A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

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

This week, Mark catches up with Chad Taylor of Mumblebone Merinos, of Wellington, NSW, Australia.

Both Chad and Mark are fans of putting maternal traits with carcass traits on a wool producing animal. They discuss the benefits of putting fat and muscle in a Merino and how it has improved both Mumblebone's production, and also their clients.

They also cover succession and where Mark and Chad think the industry will be in 10 years time, what with all of the innovation happening in the industry right now.

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

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

On this episode of the Head Shepherd podcast, Mark catches up with Georgina Gubbins. Georgina is not only a passionate red meat producer, but is also chair of Lambex and Great South Coast Food and Fibre.

We discuss the future of Lambex, the need for new entrants in agriculture and also run through Georginas farming business focusing on giving the consumer a healthy satisifying eating experience.

Georgina is incredibly resilient, dealing with more than her fair share of challenges. Despite it all, she still manages to be huge advocate for Agriculture and one our industry is lucky to have.

Take a listen to be inspired by an incredible woman.

If you feel you are struggling with your mental health, and need someone to talk to here are some free services:
-New Zealand 1737.org.nz
-Australia lifeline.org.au/

A big thank you to our sponsors, Allflex Livestock Intelligence
https://www.allflex.global/nz/

Allflex Livestock Intelligence is the leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of animal monitoring, identification, and traceability solutions. Their data-driven solutions are used by farmers to manage animals. By putting intelligent, actionable information into farmers’ hands, their solutions empower them to act in a timely manner for optimal outcomes.

Check out The Hub below
https://thehub.nextgenagri.com

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