This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have a guest from our recent event, the neXtgen Agri Muster. Tom Fraser is a scientist at AgResearch. 

Tom spoke at the Muster about pasture allocation and making the most of your genetics. It was such a great talk, we decided to get Tom on the podcast to share the knowledge with our podcast listeners. 

Tom underlines the importance of body condition scoring, 'your hand is the cheapest tool you have,' and Mark agrees that, 'it's the most profitable thing you can do on a sheep farm.'

They run through pasture quality throughout the year, with summer and early autumn being the time to consider the ME of the pasture, once they've started losing quality. 'We only have to worry about the quality of our pastures for about three months of the year' [in New Zealand], says Tom. 

The biggest driver of profit on a sheep farm is kilograms of weaned lamb per hectare. 'Whether that's done by high scanning or high lactation growth rates, it's the way to make money,' says Tom.

Mark and Tom emphasise the opportunities for younger people in the industry to learn from other farmers, "There are some unbelievably capable, exceptional farmers out there that are doing a magnificent job, and luckily, almost without exception, they want to share their knowledge,' says Tom.

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].

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