Head Shepherd

• Financial skills for more profitable farming with David Egerton-Warburton

  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] 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 HERECheck out the MSD range HERECheck out Allflex products HERE

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• Trust and Farm Advice with Dr Ruth Nettle

  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] 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 HERECheck out the MSD range HERECheck out Allflex products HERE

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• Understanding IMF, Shear Force and Marbling with Dr Peter McGilchrist

  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] 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 HERECheck out the MSD range HERECheck out Allflex products HERE

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• neXtPredict: Breeding Values Made Easy for Commercial Sheep Producers

  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] with Weatherbys Scientific:[email protected] 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] 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 HERECheck out the MSD range HERECheck out Allflex products HERE

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• Three sheep consultants walk into a podcast studio ...

  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] 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] 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 HERECheck out the MSD range HERECheck out Allflex products HERE

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