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.
Podcasting since 2020 • 269 episodes
Head Shepherd
Latest Episodes
Practical Breeding Strategies for Commercial Cattle Producers with Carel Teseling
How can commercial producers use breeding values without recording full pedigrees? This week, Mark chats with Carel Teseling, Chief Operating Officer at Angus Australia, to find out. Carel's career has taken him from South Africa's ...
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Season 2026
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Episode 265
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1:00:55
Ferg's thoughts on genetic gain
Ferg shares his thoughts on genetic gain in the sheep and beef industries. He has often said that we should be seeking to achieve a minimum of 2% genetic gain, but the top operators we deal with here at neXtgen Agri are consistently achieving 3...
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Season 2025
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Episode 264
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25:39
Selecting for Worm Resistance in Low-Challenge Systems with Swabtec
What if measuring worm resistance didn't require high parasite burdens and ALSO delivered double the heritability of egg counts?Sarah Preston, Lecturer at Federation University and cofounder of Swabtec, explains the development of their ...
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Season 2025
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Episode 263
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37:40
Individual ewe performance and the future of sheep productivity with Tara Dwyer
What limits ewe productivity in current sheep systems?Our guest this week, Tara Dwyer is breeding manager at Headwaters Genetics and a farm manager within the Lone Star Farms group. Her work covers stud breeding, commercial supply chains...
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Season 2025
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Episode 262
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43:54
Results from the 'Genetics of foot health in Merinos' project with Gus Rose
Gus Rose shares the recent results from the 'Genetics of foot health in Merinos' project, which is looking at footrot and foot structure in sheep in Australia. Gus shares what the data shows on the heritability of foot shape and its relationshi...
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Season 2025
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Episode 261
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32:06
