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Mark Ferguson from neXtgen Agri brings you the latest in livestock, genetics, innovation and technology. We focus on sheep and beef farming in Australia and New Zealand and the people doing great things in those industries.
209 Episodes
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What is actually occurring within a sheep with worm resistance? This week on the podcast we have a fascinating discussion with Dr Kelsey Bentley who has spent her career so far looking into the immune mechanisms of Katahdin sheep in the US. Kelsey runs us through what happens biologically within the sheep to make it ‘resistant’. She has also researched the importance of the role of colostrum in lamb immunity. Kelsey explains how it provides essential immunological benefits - particularly thro...
Sophie and Ferg catch up about Ferg’s recent trip to Ontario, Canada, where he visited 14 different sheep farming enterprises on his 10-day trip with Ontario Sheep Farmers. Highlights:- The differences in production systems, compared with New Zealand and Australia - Feeding strategies- Lambing systems- Health challenges- Market dynamics- The potential for genetic improvements in sheep breedingHead Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock fa...
John Francis, director of Agrista, an agricultural consultancy, discusses benchmarking, understanding optimum stocking rates, maximising pasture utilisation, feed efficiency and much more. Maximise pasture use and adjust stocking rates seasonally to boost profitability.Measure to manage.Profit varies by livestock system, so choose one that suits your resources.Benchmarking offers insights but avoid relying solely on past data.Stay flexible and adaptable to respond to market shifts effect...
Bec Malseed, who manages AWI & RIST’s Lifetime Ewe Management course, in her spare time is a female central/field umpire in her local country footy regional league. It’s fair to say that she is trailblazing a path for other women and girls to follow - in 2023, she became the first female field/central umpire in senior mens football in the Mininera & District Football League. Her conversation with Ferg puts a spotlight on her experiences breaking into this traditionally male-domin...
Ben Simpson from OGA Creative Agency shares his passion for the varied landscape of Australian agriculture - focusing on storytelling, ethics, and innovation. He discusses with Ferg how effective communication, AI and visual storytelling are shaping the future of livestock marketing. Ben highlights the importance of ethical practices, brand values and initiatives like Meat and Livestock Australia's ‘Australian Good Meat’ program in enhancing Australia’s global standing. Agriculture story...
This week we have David Thompson of Moojepin Foods on the podcast. David talks about his career breeding trait-leading Merinos, how he is addressing salinity issues in Western Australia with the exploration of saltbush and halophyte agriculture, along with his latest idea: saltbush beer! David has to be one of the most innovative and enthusiastic people in Agriculture. Tune in for an absolutely fantastic episode.- The evolution of Merino sheep breeding- Challenges and innovations in mutton pr...
Angus Gidley-Baird, Senior Analyst - Animal Proteins at Rabobank, joins us this week to share his expertise on the sheep and beef industries across Australia and New Zealand. Angus helps us understand market dynamics, global demand and the impact of seasonal conditions on the market. In this episode we cover the:Current state of the Australian and New Zealand sheep and beef marketsImpact of drought and seasonal conditions on supplyGlobal demand for lamb and beef, particularly from China and t...
This week on the podcast, we’re chatting all things livestock breeding with Robert Peacock from Orari Gorge Station. Robert discusses how and why they’ve been breeding for worm resistance. They have also been one of the first to measure feed efficiency and methane emissions, demonstrating the role of genetics in addressing these farming challenges. Tune in to discover how Orari Gorge is setting the standard for sustainable farming.Farming sheep, beef and deer in South Canterbury. How to ...
Our guest this week is veterinarian Enoch Bergman. Originally from the USA, Enoch arrived in Australia in 2003. He fell in love with the people, the landscape and the agricultural innovation of Esperance, Western Australia and has been there ever since. Enoch is passionate about improving the performance of heifers and the use of fixed-time artificial insemination (AI) in commercial breeding programmes, and shares that passion with us today. He explains the process of synchronising heifers an...
1This week on the podcast we’re celebrating 200 episodes! We thought we’d make a special occasion of it so we recorded our podcast live at Lambex 2024 and who better to have on as a guest than Lambex founder, Dawson Bradford. Mark and Dawson discuss the origins of Lambex. Dawson came up with the idea to “ … bring producers together with the processors and retailers, and get an understanding through the whole industry.” It’s safe to say Dawson accomplished that with 1,500 delegates attendi...
Our guest on the podcast this week is Barbara Webster, co-founder of inMR. Barbara shares with Mark how inMR's Marbl™ technology uses nuclear magnetic resonance to measure intramuscular fat quickly, accurately and non-invasively, delivering a new standard to the industry.In the last few years, the technology has been successfully implemented in lamb-carcass grading. inMR are in the process of adapting it to other applications, such as beef carcasses and live animals. While MRI technology...
This week on the podcast we’re discussing heat stress during mating and pregnancy with Dr William van Wettere.Heat stress is classed as anything over 32°C, which can disrupt fertility in ewes, semen quality in rams and embryonic development in lambs, so it has an overarching effect on all aspects of reproduction.Mark and Will start by discussing the effects of heat stress on ewes. Trials show that heat stress affects ewes most in the five days leading up to ovulation and the first five days a...
Building resilience and achieving success in agriculture is an unpredictable challenge that involves continuous learning, upskilling, mentorship and adoption of innovative practices. In this episode, Mark chats with Danielle England, both a consultant and farmer, about resilience in the agricultural industry.Danielle currently farms merino sheep with her husband and his family in Keilira, South Australia. However, she has spent most of her career going back and forth across Australia in a var...
How would you manage your cattle differently (or your sheep for that matter) if you could diagnose pregnancy at day 16? This week on the podcast, Mark chats with Bronwyn Darlington, a trailblazer in the field of disruptive innovation and sustainable agriculture. Bronwyn shares her journey through various ventures and projects, one of which is AgScent.“My area of expertise is looking at the complex systems that interact as far as technology is concerned - to come together to create seriou...
This week on the podcast we have Bill Mitchell, co-founder of Optiweigh, discussing the Optiweigh system and its unexpected impacts on the farm businesses that are already using the technology. Optiweigh was founded 10 years ago by Bill and Jacqui Mitchell after they decided there must be a better way to closely monitor cattle weights, rather than running them into the yards every week. “There was a walk-over weighing system that I saw first in sheep. And it was just like, how on earth do I m...
This week on the podcast we have Richard Subtil, from Omarama Station, a 12,000-hectare property in New Zealand's South Island. Over the last 26 years, Richard and his wife Annabelle have made incredible progress on the station, creating a sustainable and efficient operation for their children to take over.There is a vast range of environments found across Omarama Station, from tussock at 1,550 metres to 4,000 hectares of irrigated flats at 450 metres and “... everything else in between,” say...
As food producers, should we know more about the nutrition of the products we produce? This week on the podcast we have Dr Anneline Padayachee, a food and nutrition scientist. We dive into the fascinating world of carbs, proteins, micronutrients and more, hopefully leaving you with a better understanding of the food we produce and eat.Anneline provides a brief history of nutrition science. This relatively new field emerged in the late 1800s, after the discovery of the elements of the periodic...
What happens when a Merino sheep farmer turns into a digital marketplace mogul? Our guest this week, Dwain Duxson, founder of Farm Tender and The Farmers Club, shares how and why he switched career paths. While Dwain enjoyed his time farming and breeding Merino rams, in 2011 he decided a change of gear was in order. “For me, [selling rams] was pretty restrictive in how many customers you could serve. I wanted to serve a lot more customers. I had a bit of an idea of what I wanted to do when th...
Join us this week and find out how Matt Iremonger manages multiple dairy, sheep and beef operations across 6,500 hectares in Canterbury, New Zealand. Matt shares the challenges and opportunities in such a diverse farming enterprise, as well as his recent experience as a Nuffield Scholar looking at the integration of beef production from the dairy industry to create a high-value premium product.When Matt’s parents sold the farm he grew up on, Matt needed to find another way into property owner...
Ever wondered what it takes to breed top-quality Brahmans? This week on the podcast we have Alf Collins, of ALC Brahmans, sharing how he and the team do just that with a disciplined approach to breeding and selection. Alf discusses the evolution of the ALC herd, the business today and the stringent criteria they apply when selecting their Brahmans. ALC started with Alf's grandfather when he introduced Brahman genetics into his British herds back in the 1950s. This move was met with scept...
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