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
265 episodes
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
On-Farm Micron Testing with Woven Optics
Our guest this week is Vicky Alexandrou, co-founder of Woven Optics.Over the past eight years, Vicky has helped design and build a handheld microscope that lets you measure wool fibre dia...
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Season 2025
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Episode 249
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38:38
Leadership in ag with Felicity Taylor
What does leadership look like in agriculture today? For Felicity Taylor, Area Manager for Rabobank in Moree and a 2025 Zanda McDonald Award finalist, it’s about connection, community and supporting others to succeed.In this episode, Fel...
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Season 2025
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Episode 248
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27:50
Breeding better sheep at Moojepin Merinos with Hamish Thompson
What does it take to keep a sheep business moving forward? For our guest this week, Hamish Thomson of Moojepin Merinos, it’s a mix of genetics, management and never being afraid to try something new.In the podcast, Hamish talks about th...
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Season 2025
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Episode 247
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33:24
Using Drone Technology in Ag with SkyKelpie
Ever considered using a drone on your farm? Well, this is the podcast for you. This week, our guest is Luke Chaplain, founder of SkyKelpie. Luke is one of the leading experts in drone mustering in Australia and has spent the last three years re...
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Season 2025
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Episode 246
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21:45
The past, present and future of sheep genomics in New Zealand with John McEwan
If you want to know about sheep genetics in New Zealand, our guest this week, John McEwan, is the person to ask. John has been involved with genomics “since before genomics was a thing.”From discovering key reproductive genes and rolling...
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Season 2025
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Episode 245
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45:35
Breeding a multi-dimensional, modern merino at Willera with Simon Coutts
When you think of a 'modern merino', what comes to mind? For our guest this week, Willera Merino stud principal, Simon Coutts, it means a sheep that works for your business, regardless of the weather or market conditions. Simon expl...
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Season 2025
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Episode 244
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37:14
Inside Headwaters Genetics with Simon Saunders
Simon Saunders is one of the original farmers behind Headwaters and runs the elite ewe flock at his farm, Stag Valley. In this episode, he discusses how the breeding program has evolved, what it takes to deliver consistency at scale, and the fu...
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Season 2025
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Episode 243
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28:46
What can US sheep farmers learn from New Zealand's success? With Dr Whit Stewart
This week, we’re chatting about the differences between US and NZ sheep production systems with Dr. Whit Stewart, an Associate Professor and Extension Sheep Specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Wyoming.Whit...
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Season 2025
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Episode 242
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45:57
Staff, Structure and Systems with Jack O’Connor
This week we’re (belatedly) joined by Jack O’Connor, winner of the 2025 Zanda McDonald Award. Jack lives and works on the family’s fourth-generation mixed farming operation, Oxton Park, in southern NSW.He and Ferg discuss his career so f...
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Season 2025
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Episode 241
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35:50
The future of LAMBPLAN with Peta Bradley
We're back on the genetic evaluation theme with Peta Bradley, Operations Manager at Sheep Genetics, to talk all things sheep genetics and the exciting changes that are happening at MLA in terms of bringing the two LAMBPLAN databases together.&n...
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Season 2025
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Episode 240
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56:48
Genetic Progress: Navigating trade-offs and opportunities with Jason Archer
This week, we’re joined by Jason Archer, Head of Genetics at Beef + Lamb NZ, to discuss the untapped potential of genomics in livestock.Jason has spent his career working across beef, sheep, and even deer between Australia and New Zealan...
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Season 2025
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Episode 239
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45:15
Why Structural Selection Drives Long-Term Profitability with Sharon Paterson
In this episode, Ferg is chatting with Sharon Paterson from Waikaka Station in Southland, NZ. Sharon is very passionate about her flock of Texels and chats with Ferg about her selection process and her very rigorous culling criteria for structu...
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Season 2025
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Episode 238
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39:24
Managing Farm Operations and Community Involvement with James Bruce
This week on the podcast, we're joined by James Bruce, a Wairarapa sheep and beef farmer running 6,000-7,000 stock units across hill country in the Maramora area. James shares his practical strategies for managing farmer mental health and well-...
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Season 2025
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Episode 237
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26:33
