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
278 episodes
Using Genomics to Improve Heifer Selection in Commercial Beef Herds
Choosing replacement heifers shapes the productivity of a breeding herd for years to come.This week on the Head Shepherd podcast, James Starling joins Mark Ferguson to discuss the 'Optimised Heifer Selection' project, which focuses on co...
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Season 2026
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Episode 273
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37:01
Understanding the wool industry pipeline with Shannon Donoghue
This week on the podcast, Shannon Donoghue joins us to talk about why she's so passionate about telling the story of wool. Growing up on a sheep property in South Australia, Shannon started off in the industry as a wool classer befo...
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Season 2026
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Episode 272
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27:28
40 years of sheep selection lessons: worm resistance, longevity and performance with Allan Richardson
How much do you hate daggy sheep? Well, what started as a frustration with daggy sheep ended up reshaping this week's guest’s entire farming system.This week, Allan Richardson explains how his determination to eliminate daggy sheep ulti...
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Season 2026
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Episode 271
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40:06
Ferg’s thoughts on the 25/26 ram sale season, how to buy a good ram and why breeding values matter.
Tune in this week on the Head Shepherd podcast to hear Ferg discuss the 2025/2026 ram sale period across Australia and New Zealand. He explains his approach to selecting the right ram team and the decisions breeders have been facing when produc...
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Season 2026
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Episode 270
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26:27
Why you can't miss LambEx26 with Jamie Heinrich
Are you heading to LambEx26? This week on the podcast we have LambEx chair, Jamie Heinrich, on the podcast to discuss one of the sheep industry’s largest gatherings, bringing together producers, researchers, service providers and supply chain l...
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Season 2026
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Episode 269
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20:55
Leading The New Zealand Merino Company into its next chapter with Angus Street
Our guest this week, Angus Street, has worked across journalism, global agricultural marketing, Asian supply chains and livestock trading before stepping into the role of CEO at New Zealand Merino. In this episode, Angus reflects on taking on t...
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Season 2026
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Episode 268
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58:14
Breeding Romneys for the rain at Kaituna Ridges
How do you breed sheep that thrive in wet coastal hill country without routine drenching? What traits actually matter when you're selecting for challenging conditions? This week on the podcast, Mark is chatting to Fred Gane, who runs Kaituna Ri...
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Season 2026
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Episode 267
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59:08
Lessons from moving sheep genetics around the world with Ian McDougall
Ever wondered about farming New Zealand sheep in the UK, or considered farming UK shedding genetics in Australia? In this episode of Head Shepherd, Ferg speaks with Ian McDougall, a veterinarian whose career - and sheep - have taken him across ...
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Season 2026
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Episode 266
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55:13
How innovation is changing the wool industry with Sam Wan
Growing up in Western Sydney with no connection to agriculture, Samantha Wan’s path into the wool industry was anything but typical.In this week's episode, Sam talks with Ferg about finding agriculture through high school ag, building co...
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Season 2026
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Episode 267
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33:00
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 the breeding manager at Headwaters Genetics and a farm manager within the Lone Star Farms group. Her work covers stud breeding, commercial supply c...
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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
Proactive sheep management strategies with Tim Gole
On this week's episode, Tim Gole shares how sheep farmers can increase their profits by shifting from responding to problems to preventing them in the first place.Tim runs ForFlocksSake, a vet...
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Season 2025
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Episode 260
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46:13
How Do You Breed Short-Tailed Sheep? with Marnie Hodge
What do the genetics of tail length and the genetics of semen quality have in common? Not much, except that our guest, Marnie Hodge, Sheep Genetics Senior Development Officer, has researched them both.Tail length is moderately to highly ...
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Season 2025
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Episode 259
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31:56
Growing More Grass and Turning It Into Growth with Bevan Ravenhill
How simple rotations and tight feed management lift whole farm performance.Mark chats with Bevan Ravenhill, WA General Manager for Lawson Angus WA, to talk about what really drives a productive grazing business. Bevan grew up on a ...
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Season 2025
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Episode 258
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1:07:15
How to Start a Cattle Business with Summit Livestock
Ever wondered what it takes to build a succesfull seedstock buisness from the ground up? Well, this is the podcast for you. This week, Mark chats with Jasmine and Hayden Green, owners of Summit Livestock, about how they built their ...
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Season 2025
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Episode 257
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42:12
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 Aust...
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Season 2025
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Episode 256
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46:49
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 Rura...
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Season 2025
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Episode 255
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47:52
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'...
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Season 2025
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Episode 254
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1:01:58
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 v...
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Season 2025
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Episode 253
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27:54
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 an...
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Season 2025
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Episode 252
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38:47
Fighting drench resistance with the DAGI app, with Ryan Luckman
Is drench resistance an issue on your property? Thanks to modern technology, we have tools at our disposal to help.This week's guest is Ryan Luckman, vet and founder of DAGI, (Drench and Grazing Integration), an app that displays the ris...
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Season 2025
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Episode 251
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30:43
What does neXtgen Agri actually do? Mark Ferguson explains
Thousands of you listen to the podcast every week, but we've come to realise many of you don't know exactly what we do here at neXtgen Agri. In this episode, Mark, our host and CEO, takes to the mic and chats about all things neXtge...
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Season 2025
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Episode 250
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46:53
