Head Shepherd

Hosted by Mark Ferguson

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Episodes

310

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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EN-NZ

About the show

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. To learn more about neXtgen Agri, visit www.nextgenagri.com.

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60 recent

October 25, 2026Episode 30441 min

Animal health planning for sheep and beef farms with Dr Dave Robertson

Dave Robertson is a large animal vet at Oamaru’s Vet Centre, with a lifelong interest in sheep breeding and a particular focus on helping sheep and beef farmers understand and improve all elements of animal health. Growing up in a fifth-generation farming family in West Otago, Dave developed an early interest in sheep genetics, starting with ten Romney sheep at the age of ten. After studying biochemistry at Otago, he went on to veterinary science, building experience across different farming systems and developing a particular interest in fine-wool sheep. In this episode, Dave shares what he has learnt from years of working with farmers on some of the industry’s persistent challenges, including footrot and drench resistance. He outlines his five systems of worm control, explains why managing parasites requires more than choosing the right drench, and discusses the role of grazing management, monitoring and genetics in building healthier, more productive flocks. Dave also talks about his own journey from breeding Southdowns to developing Rocket Rams, combining New Zealand and Australian terminal genetics to meet the needs of fine-wool and mid-micron sheep systems. If you're looking to get on top of footrot, rethink your worm control programme or understand where genetics fit into healthier flocks, make sure to tune in to this week's episode. 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

October 18, 2026Episode 30347 min

Using carcass feedback to improve lamb production with Isabele Roberts

What can carcass feedback tell us about breeding better lambs? Our guest this week, Isabele Roberts, shares how six years of carcass data, research and on-farm trials have shaped her approach to lamb production. Isabele runs Ridgehaven, a family sheep business in New South Wales that combines a stud, commercial lamb production and a research program. With her husband, sister and brother, she manages three properties covering 3,200 hectares, focusing on breeding sheep that meet the needs of businesses further along the supply chain. Isabele has been involved in the Gundagai Lamb program since its early research work in 2020, using carcass feedback to understand how genetics, nutrition and management influence eating quality. The information has changed how Ridgehaven finishes lambs and selects rams, with different breeding priorities depending on the processor and the product required. She shares what the research has taught her about intramuscular fat, growth and the trade-offs involved in breeding lambs that can reach market specifications at a young age. For Isabele, the aim is to work backwards from the end product, using performance data and visual assessment together to make better breeding decisions. She also sees producer and processor feedback as an opportunity for the wider lamb industry to improve production systems and deliver a more consistent product to consumers. 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

October 11, 2026Episode 30231 min

Ferg's thoughts on replacement ewe selection

Selecting replacement ewe lambs is an opportunity to make more genetic progress in a flock, but how much are we missing when selection relies on visual assessment alone? In this episode, Ferg shares his thoughts on improving replacement ewe selection. He explains how environmental effects can influence what we see in the yards, and why putting objective scores around those observations can lead to better selection decisions. Ferg also explains how neXtRank accounts for environmental effects and trait heritability to rank animals against a flock's breeding objective, giving producers an opportunity to make better use of the information they collect without adding unnecessary cost or complexity to the process. Get in touch today if you're interested in using neXtRank within your business mark@nextgenagri.com 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

October 4, 2026Episode 30133 min

Understanding immune competence and worm resistance in sheep with Emma Noble-Campbell

neXtResist can tell you which sheep are fighting off worms, even when worm numbers are low. Emma Noble-Campbell has been running the test for New Zealand breeders since she joined us in February. Emma grew up on a sheep and beef farm in the North Island, studied agricultural science at Lincoln and did her honours on worm resistance and immunity in sheep. Since joining neXtgen, she has set up our "Spit Lab" (in Ferg's garage!) and is now running neXtResist, the SwabTec saliva test, for New Zealand breeders. Emma and Ferg talk through how the test works. It measures the antibodies in a sheep's saliva against a protein worms release during infection, so it picks up variation between animals even when worm pressure is low, meaning it is not a requirement to push sheep to high egg counts to measure resistance. Mark and Emma also discuss SHIELD, our new project on immune competence, worm resistance, whole body energy and hoof health. These are the four things we see going wrong most often on farms, and once one element fails, others tend to follow, and the sheep goes downhill. The aim is to breed sheep that are less likely to start down that path, without giving up production. Tune in to hear more about SHIELD and how you can get involved. Sign up to our newsletter to read more about SwabTec If you would like to test your antibody levels with neXtResist, get in touch with Emma at emma.noble-campbell@nextgenagri.com 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

September 27, 2026Episode 30039 min

Pulling the future towards you with Gus Balbontin

Join us to celebrate our 300th episode! For anyone lucky enough to attend LambEx this year, Gus Balbontin was one of our favourite speakers. So, when he agreed to come on for our special 300th episode, we were beyond excited. The messages Gus shared during his talk have stuck with many. He challenged (and succeeded) in getting us to think differently and to question any long-standing assumptions we'd had. Gus grew up in sheep country in Patagonia before leaving Argentina at the age of 17 because of "a healthy disregard for the status quo". By 22, he'd dropped out of university, hitchhiked across South America, started his first business and landed his dream job at Lonely Planet, giving him a front-row seat to the disruption that came alongside the internet and ensuing technology boom. These days, Gus is an investor, founder, advisor, and speaker, working across startups, AI, robotics, 3D-printed wheelchairs, and climate technology. Gus doesn’t claim to know exactly what the future will look like. Instead, he argues that we should be getting better at adapting to whatever comes next. He talks about why successful businesses and farms can become comfortable with systems that have worked for years, which is why disruption often looks ridiculous before it becomes obvious. His advice is to stop waiting for the future to become clear and start playing with it now. Try something unfamiliar. Follow a new idea down a rabbit hole. Make a small experiment. See what happens. We couldn't have asked for a better guest for our 300th episode. We hope this gives you a chance to think about staying relevant, challenging assumptions and being willing to rethink things that have worked well for a long time. 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

September 20, 2026Episode 29948 min

The changing role of breed societies with John Yates

John Yates has spent the past 18 years helping develop the British Texel Sheep Society, including bringing performance recording in house and building the iTexel database. Rather than relying on an external system, the Society has developed an evaluation around the information its breeders are collecting and the breeding goals of a terminal sire breed. John chats with Ferg about that evolution and the thinking behind it. For him, breed development has to maintain focus on what commercial producers need from a terminal sire, which means making data easier for breeders to collect and use, putting economic value on traits, and using genomics to ensure accuracy within the breed. With around a third of UK sires having texel genetics, this development has been quite influential for sheep producers there. It is an interesting concept, and worth a listen for anyone wondering what a breed society could be doing with the data it already holds. 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

September 13, 2026Episode 29823 min

From the shearing shed to sheep genetics with Reece Michelle

Our newest consultant, Reece Michelle, took a slightly roundabout route into his new role with neXtgen Agri, from studying agricultural science at Lincoln and working with Headwaters to shearing and fencing before moving across the Tasman. Now splitting his time between neXtgen Agri and Murdoch University, Reece chats with Ferg about his move to WA, the work he’ll be doing with sheep breeders and researchers which includes the Smart Ewe project and heat tolerance work. Get in touch at info@nextgenagri.com if you'd like to know more about these projects or our new tool, neXtRank 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

September 6, 2026Episode 29737 min

Maximising eating quality and profitability in sheep with David Packer

This episode comes from our Productivity & Profitability podcast, produced in partnership with Meat & Livestock Australia. How do you breed a lamb that consistently delivers a better eating experience? For decades, sheep producers have been selecting for traits they could easily measure, including growth, fertility and lean meat yield. But eating quality has remained far more difficult to quantify, despite being one of the biggest drivers of consumer satisfaction and long-term demand. On this episode, Mark chats with David Packer, Program Manager – CarcaseValue at Meat & Livestock Australia, to explore how advances in meat science are changing that. Whether you're interested in genetics, processing, meat science or producing lambs that better meet consumer expectations, this episode shows just how rapidly objective carcase measurement is reshaping sheep breeding. 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

August 30, 2026Episode 29634 min

Redefining the Corriedale with Peter Blackwood

Most breeders pick one thing to improve. Peter Blackwood picked several. When he and his wife Claire took over a Corriedale stud in 2006, they committed to lifting fertility, carcass shape and wool fineness - all at once - by using ASBVs. Two decades later, they've lifted lambing from 110% to 150%, and reduced micron from 28 to 22-24. Peter also says his sheep are shorter and stockier, with better shape and cleaner points, including bare heads. Apparently 10 years on the crutching trailers will do that to a farmer! The Performance Corriedale Group, which Peter helped found, conducted a three-year eating quality trial on more than 700 lambs, developing the first genomic tools to predict meat quality in Corriedales, which, as it turned out, had higher intramuscular fat on average than industry benchmarks at 4.6% and some lambs even reaching above 10% IMF. Peter says he sees the Corriedale as an 'all-rounder' breed rather than a 'dual-purpose' breed. After 20 years of breeding for good structure, fertility, wool and carcase, Peter now sees an opportunity for the Corriedale in modern prime lamb systems, particularly where producers can make the wool pay for the sheep enterprise and let the lambs carry the remaining costs. Tune in to hear how Peter and Claire proved you don't have to pick between traits. You can breed a sheep that does fertility, carcass and wool well, all at the same time. 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

August 23, 2026Episode 29540 min

Questioning tradition in Merino breeding with Dom Hallam

Looking to change your Merino genetics? What actually happens when you switch types? For our guest this week, Dom Hallam, it started with his parents. Coming from a traditional fine wool background, they began looking for something different, eventually bringing sheep from New England into their flock. The change was rapid, and before long the sheep looked very different. His parents' willingness to try something new eventually led them into breeding their own rams and establishing the Cooee Merino stud. A few years ago, Dom came across a type of Merino that caught his attention when 'browsing sheep on the internet', as one does. Those sheep were Konsortium Merinos. Originally from South Africa, they have been bred in Australia to become a very fertile, wrinkle-free Merino with great meat attributes. Dom travelled to see the sheep and decided he was bringing some home with him. Tune in to see how they've performed and how he's planning to cross them with his original flock. Before he returned to the family farm, Dom spent time in the US studying horse dentistry. What he learnt about skull structure and dentition has stayed with him, and he now considers those same principles when breeding sheep. He has some unique insights into issues such as undershot jaws. For Dom, the interesting part of breeding is that there is always another question to ask and another change to make. The best advice he learnt from his parents? 'You can't change unless you change.' Ferg is out and about on the road over the coming weeks. Catch him at the following events: 28 August – Precision, productivity and profit (workshop ) 8 September – Pooginook Poll Merino open day 9 September – Mumblebone open day 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out ProWay's product range HERE

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