This week on the podcast, Professor Wayne Pitchford joins Mark Ferguson to discuss all things cow condition.

Wayne has spent more than three decades at the University of Adelaide working across animal breeding, genetics and livestock production, and is currently Director of the Davies Livestock Research Centre.

Wayne and Mark discuss his recent research on the relationship between early body measures and adult traits like fertility and condition score, including why young animal data explains only a small part of cow performance. They also cover fat distribution across different depots and what that means for selecting more efficient and resilient cattle.

Wayne and Ferg also talk through how you should interpret feed efficiency, carcass traits, muscularity and hip height to breed the right cow for your business.

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

This week on the podcast, Mark (Ferg) catches up with Andrew Kennedy (Ox) and Darren Gordon (Cat) to reflect on their early years together as well as the career and influence of Dr Andrew “Thommo” Thompson. The episode is part of Podcasthon, supporting efforts to raise awareness for brain cancer research.

Ferg, Cat and Ox reminisce about the early days of the Lifetime Ewe research project and the realities of running a large-scale sheep research under the legendary Andrew Thompson. This was before the use EID, which meant recording thousands of pasture measurements and condition scores by hand.

That work, which began as a project focused on wool follicles, ultimately reshaped how the sheep industry thinks about nutrition, twin survival and ewe management. The research helped change the language we use around feed, energy, and condition score, and drove widespread adoption of better management strategies across Australia.

Tune in to hear some great stories from the early days of these research trials with a few untold yarns about the situations these three managed to find themselves in.

This is not one to miss!

If you would like to help us reach our goal of raising $52,000 to fund vital cancer research, visit the link below:

https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000

If you would like to join the Strava club, visit this link:

https://www.strava.com/clubs/TwentySix2000?utm_campaign=club_share&utm_content=1858801&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=thehub.nextgenagri.com

To find out more about Podcasthon, visit this link:

https://podcasthon.org/

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

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 combining genomic tools with visual assessment to improve heifer selection.

Based on the Limestone Coast in South Australia, James runs a self-replacing Angus herd alongside a prime lamb enterprise. After two decades working in global financial markets, he returned to farming with a strong focus on data, value and decision making.

In this conversation, James explains why identifying the right replacement heifers is one of the most important profit drivers in a breeding herd. The discussion covers how combining visual assessment with genomic tools can improve selection for first cycle conception, rebreeding performance, longevity and lifetime productivity.

With TSU sampling and genotyping now underway across the project’s core herds, the goal is to generate practical data from commercial operations and test how well genomics can complement traditional drafting decisions.

The episode also touches on market signals, cost of production, maternal versus terminal breeding strategies and why measuring performance is becoming essential for livestock businesses operating in high-cost production environments.

'Optimised heifer selection – Integrating genomic selection tools and on-farm assessments to maximise lifetime productivity' is a Meat & Livestock Australia Producer Demonstration Site project. Contact Georgia Pugh (E: georgia@nextgenagri.com M:+61 408 947 488) for more information about the project.

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