Head Shepherd

This week on the podcast, Mark chats with Carol Mudford to talk about her unconventional path into the shearing sheds and the work she is now doing to help improve mental health across the industry.
Carol grew up around sheep but never planned to pick up a handpiece, starting her working life in nursing before COVID and family circumstances brought her back to the farm. When she was ready to return to nursing, Carol moved into mental health nursing within a rural suicide prevention programme, combining her experience from both the sheds and healthcare with the idea of forming a charity. After losing multiple people in the industry to suicide in a short period, her idea came to life much sooner than she expected.
Now the founder of sHedway, Carol is working across Australia and New Zealand to improve awareness, reduce stigma, and give shearers practical tools to look after themselves and each other. Carol shares practical signs to look for when someone might be struggling, how to step in, and why being “helpfully nosy” can matter more than people think.
This podcast episode discusses suicide. If you are struggling or know someone who may be struggling, support is available through local mental health and crisis services in your area. 
Australia:
Lifeline Australia: Ph 13 11 14 and text 0477 13 11 14  Web- https://www.lifeline.org.au
Beyond Blue: Ph - 1300 22 46 36 - https://www.beyondblue.org.au
New Zealand:
Samaritans Aotearoa New Zealand: Ph - 0800 72 66 66 Web - https://www.samaritans.org.nz/
Lifeline New Zealand: Ph 1737 or 0800 543 354 Web: https://www.lifeline.org.n
Rural Support Trust: Ph 0800 787 254 Web- https://www.rural-support.org.nz/
UK:
MIND Ph: 0300 102 1234 Web- https://www.mind.org.uk/
Other:
1000 Hearts - https://1000hearts.com.au
Shedway Official Website - https://shedway.org.au

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: [email protected].

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

Bea Litchfield is Managing Director of Hazeldean, a sixth-generation family seedstock business running both Merino and Angus studs alongside commercial operations. 

Hazeldean is a large-scale seedstock business, and they produce around 600 Angus bulls and 400 Merino rams each year for clients across all kinds of environments. Their tough environment allows their stock to be put to the test and their rigorous focus on fertility, structure, temperament, growth and carcass has meant the Hazeldean name is well known around Australia.
In this episode, Bea and Mark discuss their approach to breeding seedstock, which involves harsh winters and a LOT of data recording. 
The family has innovation in their blood at Hazeldean, so it's no surprise that Bea is excited about where emerging technology, including AI and on animal monitoring, may take farm businesses. She and Mark discuss this, amongst other things. 
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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
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: [email protected].

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

Join Mark and our guest this week, Dr Shane Thomson, to discuss some key points around reproductive performance in cattle. 
Shane is a veterinarian and partner at Holbrook Vet Centre in southern New South Wales, leading a team of 10 vets across a practice that's roughly 90% beef production.
Cattle reproduction work is at the core of what Shane does daily, and in this episode, he and Mark cover pretty much everything. Including bull soundness, AI, embryo transfer, IVF, how to improve pregnancy rates in beef herds, what a pre-breeding bull soundness evaluation actually involves, how to prevent pestivirus and other reproductive diseases, when IVF makes more sense than conventional ET, and the role of sexed semen in beef operations.
Shane and Mark wrap up their chat by discussing what he thinks are the biggest untapped opportunities in beef production.
This episode is a goldmine for any beef producers wanting to understand their herd's reproductive performance. 
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: [email protected].

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, 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: [email protected].

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: [email protected].

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