Head Shepherd

Reducing Drench Usage in Sheep with Nick Cotter


Listen Later

From direct organic lamb sales to a firewood business and developing algorithms for drench recommendations, the Cotter family pretty much do it all.

This week we have Nick Cotter of Cotter Agritech on the podcast to chat about their farm in County Limerick, Ireland, and the various inventions and innovations they have come up with.


In Ireland, sheep farming is considered the least profitable, behind beef and dairy. This prompted the Cotter family to convert to organic farming in 2014. Nick Cotter discusses the challenges of organic farming and the direct marketing of organic lamb products. "It is bloody hard and there is a lot of work in it. But if you get it right, there is a significant premium to be found," he explains.


As the proverb goes, necessity is the mother of invention and Nick explains that the added challenges of being organic inspired them to create “a lot of good ideas.”


One of their first ideas was their CotterCrate, a manual sheep handling and weighing system. The handling system was thought up after having to handle lambs more often under an organic regime. They developed it over a year, adding and changing things as they went. Then they took it on the road and worked with farmers to finesse the design. So, it is truly built by farmers, for farmers.


Their latest engineering feat is SmartWorm. As an organic producer, Nick is all too aware of the challenge of reducing drench usage, along with minimising drench resistance in sheep and cattle farming, so Cotter Agritech created technology to combat the issue.


Instead of directly counting worms, SmartWorm assesses the real-time impact on lamb performance through a special algorithm. The tool integrates multiple factors to make accurate predictions for drenching, significantly reducing unnecessary dosing without compromising animal health or weight gain. The algorithm considers factors such as recent weather conditions, lamb physiology, recent drenches and pasture availability. With real-time analysis, it accurately determines whether treatment is necessary for each lamb.


Cotter Agritech is currently focused on driving the adoption of SmartWorm technology in Ireland, the UK, New Zealand and Australia, with plans for expansion into cattle farming.


If you are interested in working with Cotter Agritech, contact Nick at [email protected].

You can find out more about their technology here: cotteragritech.com.
And, there is more information about their premium lamb sales here: https://www.cotterorganiclamb.ie/


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

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Head ShepherdBy Mark Ferguson

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

7 ratings


More shows like Head Shepherd

View all
Scene + Herd: Podcasts from Beef + Lamb New Zealand by Beef + Lamb New Zealand

Scene + Herd: Podcasts from Beef + Lamb New Zealand

1 Listeners

Matty & Cronk by Fox Sports

Matty & Cronk

46 Listeners

The Yarn by Australian Wool Innovation

The Yarn

3 Listeners

Profitable Farmer by Farm Owners Academy

Profitable Farmer

12 Listeners

Commodity Conversations by Mecardo

Commodity Conversations

3 Listeners

Humans of Agriculture by Humans of Agriculture

Humans of Agriculture

8 Listeners

Marcus Oldham AgTalk by Marcus Oldham College

Marcus Oldham AgTalk

6 Listeners

Farms Advice Podcast by Farms Advice

Farms Advice Podcast

3 Listeners

AgWatchers by Andrew Whitelaw & Matt Dalgleish

AgWatchers

1 Listeners

Seeds for Success by Central West Local Land Services

Seeds for Success

2 Listeners

Straight Talk with Mark Bouris by Mentored.com.au

Straight Talk with Mark Bouris

220 Listeners

Alpha Blokes Podcast by Tommy & Cam

Alpha Blokes Podcast

191 Listeners

AgriCoach Wealth & Wisdom Podcast by The Financial Bloke by Ben Law

AgriCoach Wealth & Wisdom Podcast by The Financial Bloke

5 Listeners

Boots Off Log On!™ by Agrimaster

Boots Off Log On!™

0 Listeners

Productivity and Profitability Media Series by Agrista

Productivity and Profitability Media Series

0 Listeners