Head Shepherd
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.
Episodes
313 episodes
Chasing sheep around the world with Sophie Barnes
This week on the podcast we have Sophie Barnes- sheep fan and producer of the Head Shepherd Podcast. Sophie isn't from a farming background but is now one of the biggest fans of sheep you could find. Sophie came across farming when she ...
Culture is the baling twine that keeps a business together, with Sally Murfet
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Sally Murfet of Inspire Ag. Sally is a farmer's daughter born and raised in northwest Tasmania on a farm producing beef cattle and seed potatoes.Sally established Inspire Ag af...
Two lambings by 24 months - the success factors with Dr Andrew Thompson
In this episode we are providing a recording of Associate Professor Andrew Thompson from Murdoch University. Thommo, as he is better known, presented this talk at workshops in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. There are...
Ferg's thoughts: making a genetic plan and implementing it
We started this podcast with three episodes of Ferg sharing his perspective about genetics. We thought it was time to hear more of his thoughts, a couple of years on. Whether you breed sheep, cattle or goats, this episode provides...
Breeding biologically efficient livestock with Ross Richards
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Ross Richards of Romani Farms, Taumarunui, New Zealand.Ross farms in a fairly challenging environment. With warm muggy summers and paddocks surrounded by native bush it is hard to produce g...
The global potential of wool, with Monica Ebert
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Monica Ebert.Monica has been involved with sheep her entire life. She grew up on a stud farm in North East Kansas, USA breeding and showing British Downs Breeds. The passion fo...
Numnuts® – the Benefits of Pain Relief for Lamb Marking
This week on the podcast we have Robin Smith, a Product Design Engineer and creator of Numnuts. Numnuts is a device that simultaneously castrates or tails a lamb whilst also administering pain relief. Robin ...
Good farming is no secret! With Dayanne Almeida
This week on the Head Shepherd Podcast we have Dayanne Almeida aka The Sheep Nutter. Dayanne isn't from a farming background, but through her Animal Science degree in her home country Bra...
Staying curious rather than critical with St John Craner
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have St John Craner, rural sales and marketing trainer, owner of Agrarian and Kellogg scholar.The podcast this week takes a step sideways from our usual content. St John specialises in rur...
Hemprino™, where heritage meets innovation
In this week's episode, Mark catches up with the three co-founders of Hemprino™; Siobhan O'Malley, Paul Ensor and Harriet Bell. As the name suggests, Hemprino™ is a luxurious blend of the two heritage fibres; hemp and merino wool.The tri...
The marriage between management and genetics with Darren Gordon
This week on the Head Shepherd Podcast, Mark catches up with a long-term colleague and friend, Darren Gordon. Darren is a sheep nutrition and breeding consultant for neXtgen Agri, based near Dunkeld in Victoria. The pair spent several years wor...
Taking ownership of your story with Sarah Perriam
Welcome back to the Head Shepherd Podcast! To kick off season 7, we have the wonderful Sarah Perriam on to chat about her extensive media career and passion for the future of New Zealand agriculture. These days Sarah runs a production company b...
Season 6 Q&A with Dr Mark Ferguson
As with our previous seasons of Head Shepherd, we're finishing off season 6 with a Q&A episode with Mark Ferguson.We'd like to thank everyone who sent through their questions. They were vastly different and very thought-provoking, as...
Agtech is not always about making money.
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Jock Lawrence, creator and founder of Mobble.After returning home to the family farm in Victoria Australia, and realising that all of the important information was up in "Dads head", Jock a...
Create an industry you want to farm in, with Renée Hogg.
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Renée Hogg of Inside NZ.Renee grew up wanting to go farming, and always had a vision to "Create an industry I wanted to go farming in, and then go farming in it". Her first rol...
Protecting sheep from Campylobacter with Allflex and MSD Animal Health
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast, we're joined by Steve Kelly, Commercial Identification Manager at Allflex, and Kim Kelly, Veterinary Technical Advisor at MSD Animal Health.Allflex has been the sponsor of our podcast since its in...
Painting a picture of the sheep of the future with Johan Greeff
This week on the podcast we have an hour-long special for you! Mark caught up with Dr Johan Greef, an expert in production and disease traits in Merino Sheep.Johan's career is an exceptional one. From worm resistance and resilience, to ...
A Scottish shearer, shepherd and scanner, with Ryan Maclean.
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Ryan Maclean, based in North West Scotland. Ryan and Mark met through a mutual friend and sheep scanner Daniel Wheeler.Ryan was raised on a beef and sheep farm in Scotland, where he is runni...
Checking udders and reducing lamb wastage with Anne Ridler
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Anne Ridler chatting to Mark about ewe wastage and checking udders post-weaning.Anne Ridler is an associate professor at Massey University, specialising in sheep and beef. Anne has been in ...
Winning with Wagyu. 2022 Zanda McDonald award winner (Aus)
Sticking with our Zanda McDonald theme, this week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Australia's 2022 award winner, Charlie PerryCharlie grew up on a farm in northern NSW, Australia, but as with many family operations, was told he had ...
The role of a Livestock Breeding Consultant with Henry Hickson
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Henry Hickson, our Livestock Breeding Consultant in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia. Henry grew on a mixed far near Boomi, New South Wales, Australia- aka an hour north of the middle of nowhere...
Healthy staff, healthy business with Rhys Roberts - 2022 Zanda McDonald award winner (NZ)
Rhys Roberts is Chief Executive and Director of the Align Group, who operate 7 farms, a market garden, and are vertically integrated with a yoghurt brand and milk processing facility.An entrepreneurial approach to primary production has...
Sheep genetics, a wealth of knowledge with Bronwyn Clarke
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Bronwyn Clarke chatting to Mark about her career in agriculture, the research she's currently involved in, and the wealth of knowledge that she has around sheep genetics. Bronwyn is an expe...
Young livestock manager on a path to success.
This week on the Head Shepherd podcast we have Jack Devlin, 2IC of Bonavaree, Marlborough NZ.Jack spent several years working around New Zealand working on several notable stations after completing his degree- and putting it into practi...
Farmer, shearer and entrepreneur, with Karol Devaney
Welcome back to Season 6 of the Head Shepherd podcast. We have a fantastic line up of guests for you this season and we can't wait to share their stories over the coming 13 weeks. Today, we have 27 year old Karol Devaney of Drumcliff, a...