News from neXtgen Agri

You know you are in a diverse industry when on the same day you can receive an email about selecting for tolerance to extreme cold and be in a conversation about selection strategies that allow tolerance to extreme heat. This is the kind of variation that sheep and cattle clients of neXtgen Agri experience across the vastly different areas they choose to farm.

A couple of milestones have been achieved at neXtgen Agri this week. Firstly, we released our 200th episode of the podcast this week and we are so proud to have evolved the podcast from an idea to a regular feature in the weeks of many farmers. It was great to record the episode live at LambEx with Dawson Bradford, founder of LambEx. Thank you to all of those listeners out there; Head Shepherd has had a total of 450,000 listens. We are looking forward to recording the next 200.

Secondly, we just ticked over seven years in business. Seven years ago this week I stepped out of the comfort of a regular wage to go it alone and, over the years, build a business that is paying quite a number of people's wages. Of course, I was never really alone. Nisha has supported me the whole way and played an integral role in growing the business and Will Gibson joined us soon after we got going. We’ve worked for and with a range of great people over these seven years and are very proud of the team we’ve built, the clients that we have attracted and the outcomes of the work we do.

In addition to the 200th episode with Dawson Bradford, since our last newsletter, we have also released a podcast episode featuring Bill Webb, chair of Merinotech WA. There are some absolute gems in this one as well.

Sophie and I have also been busy at the keyboard again. Sophie wrote an article drilling into the important topic of when to wean, discussing why it is often earlier than you think. You can check it out HERE.

I went for a bit of a deep dive into the opportunity to bend the growth curve. That is, selecting for sheep and cattle that grow to marketable weights at an early age but don’t go on to large mature weights. One of the key outcomes of this discussion is the need for everyone to measure adult weight and condition score in cattle. Read this article over on The Hub

We also hosted a great ‘Live on The Hub’ session with industry stalwart Ken Solly. Ken focussed his discussion on the cost of production and the need for every livestock business to know what theirs is. If you missed this session, the recording is now on The Hub.

A quick note on staffing changes at neXtgen Agri. Miriam Boyens has finished up with us after two years of supporting events and marketing at neXtgen Agri. We wish Miriam well in her future endeavours.

Onwards and Upwards

Ferg and the team at neXtgen Agri