Head Shepherd

Oct 27 2024 206 ep. 35 mins 61

Head Shepherd Podcast artwork

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.

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Changing the Game with Bec Malseed

Oct 27 2024 28 mins

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 Le

Shaping Aussie Agriculture with Ben Simpson

Oct 20 2024 34 mins

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 Live

Sheep, Salt and Beer with David Thompson of Moojepin Foods

Oct 13 2024 40 mins

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

Future Trends in Lamb and Beef Markets: Expert Insights with Angus Gidley-Baird

Oct 06 2024 41 mins

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 markets

How Genetic Strategies Can Solve Farming Problems with Robert Peacock

Sep 29 2024 41 mins

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

Boosting Heifer Performance with Enoch Bergman’s AI Insights

Sep 22 2024 64 mins

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 commercia

Our 200th Episode: Live from Lambex with Dawson Bradford

Sep 15 2024 19 mins

This 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

Navigating Change in Farming with Bill Webb of Merinotech

Sep 08 2024 29 mins

If you farm Merinos in Australia, it’s more than likely you will have heard of Merinotech. And if you’ve heard of Merinotech, it's likely that you know our fantastic guest this week, Bill Webb. For those that don’t know, Merinotech is an intensively recorded ram breeding nucleus founded in 1988 by a group of WA Merino breeders who wanted to breed a ram that thrived in their e

Managing Triple Drench Resistance in Cattle

Sep 01 2024 31 mins

As you may have heard in the media recently, triple drench resistance in cattle is quickly becoming an issue for New Zealand farmers. This week on the podcast, we are joined by Dave Leathwick and Christian Sauerman from AgResearch. They share how they came across the issue, why it has occurred and what producers can do to mitigate the risks of developing triple drench resistance. D

The Future of Meat Grading with Barbara Webster

Aug 25 2024 33 mins

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 t