Head Shepherd

How do you actually pick which heifers to keep? For many, selecting the top ones is easy, but it's those middle ones that are hard to choose between. 
For this week's guest, Geoff Hayes, the answer is genomics. Geoff and his wife Belinda started their Angus stud just 5 years ago, but began their genomic journey early, not wanting to pick bulls on looks alone from the very beginning. 
"I was hesitant just to go and pick them visually," Geoff explains. "We need to put some science into it."
They began with a base genomic test across a random selection of purchased cattle, which showed them that they were fine for IMF, but needed to increase ribeye area, and that became the main basis of their early selection focus.
Over time, that focus shifted. Rather than just chasing carcass traits, they started looking for sires out of cow families with longevity in the background. This introduced more of a focus on the maternal and stayability traits. 
Geoff still tests his own weaners before deciding which ones to keep and that same mindset is now extending to heifers, with Geoff part of MLA's heifer PDS project. The project involves genotyping heifers, alongside visual measurements to help guide replacement decisions. This project is ongoing, and we will have results to share in the coming years. 
Mark and Geoff finish by talking about where the beef industry is headed with record property and beef values, as well as the possibilities of new technology just around the corner.
Optimised Heifer Selection is a Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project funded by Meat & Livestock Australia and facilitated by neXtgen Agri. Geoff Hayes is a core producer demonstration site for this project. If you would like to learn more about this PDS project, you can visit the Heifer Selection Hub page or contact: Georgia Pugh, neXtgen Agri M: +61 408 947 488 E: georgia@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: 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

Pete Fennessy has spent more than fifty years involved in science, genetics and livestock production, helping shape many of the ideas that transformed New Zealand’s sheep and deer industries. 
Pete spent two decades at Invermay before becoming General Manager of AgResearch’s Sheep, Deer and Equine Division, later founding AbacusBio alongside a group of colleagues and helping build it into an internationally recognised consultancy. More recently, his focus has turned to new challenges facing NZ agriculture, including methane, meat and the future direction of livestock production.
In this episode, Pete chats with Mark about the people, ideas and turning points that drove decades of productivity gains. 
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 we have Joshua Barton chatting to Mark about the benefits of precision sheep management and the results it can get you. 

Josh is currently stockman at Hillcroft Farms and recently shared some great scanning results with us as the outcome of well-planned precision lambing. Josh shares these results as well as discussing how Hillcroft’s ultra-white breeding program has evolved.
Josh and Mark also cover the HF Plus gene and what it is doing for fertility and why better data is the only way forward if you want to increase your production. 

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

How do Australian and New Zealand farmers stay competitive when the rest of the world is changing faster than ever?
For our guest this week, Richard Green, it starts by accepting that yesterday's thinking will not solve tomorrow's problems.
"It frustrates the hell out of me when I hear us talk about 'We're the best farmers in the world.'" explains Richard. "And we may have been, but that's a moment in time. There's so much change, progress and disruption happening around the world. We're only as good as how we were yesterday, and every day we've got to improve."
Richard's recent travels gave him new insight into where the world and the red meat sector are going. He explains the concept of a hybrid consumer where some people are shopping for experiences and absolute luxury... And then there are the "normal" people who shop at the value end who still want quality, but want as much value within that as possible. And, as Richard explains, the "middle" has been completely hollowed out. 
"Commit to volume and efficiency, or commit to a genuine premium value proposition. Half-measures won't cut it." explains Richard. "If you're competing on a commodity, compete hard and be exceptional at it. If you're not, build a differentiated supply chain with genuine partners - offshore, in-market, and at the processing end."
He explains how the South American commodity powerhouses have been doing it well, by scaling their surpluses into global supply chains and manufacturing, and how we could take some lessons from them. 
Mark and Richard also cover Cultivate Ventures, the growth fund Richard chairs. Born partly from a goal he set himself, Richard realised money made in the industry wasn't going to flow to the farmers, it was going to flow to where the capital returns- aka the investors.. So they decided they had to invest in these disruptive businesses to ensure farmers got their share of the success. 
They finish the conversation discussing the relationship between physical challenge and business mindset. Richard is no stranger to an intense physical challenge. He has run the Kepler, one of New Zealand's great walks (that usually takes 3 days) in a day, and ridden the length of both islands by bike.
"If I'm challenging myself physically, it helps me be more positive about life..." he explains. "It just realises that you are as an individual capable of a lot more, and if you realise that, then it helps you drive your businesses to be capable of a lot more too."
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

Long before performance recording became mainstream, George Fell's grandfather was building a sheep breeding programme around growth, efficiency and measured performance on pasture. Unable to find the genetics he wanted, he created them himself.
Today, that same mindset runs through everything at Fell's Yorkshire farming business. Alongside the Meatlinc sheep breeding programme, the family operates a diverse farming enterprise that includes Premier League-level turf production, free-range eggs and dairy beef finishing.
In this episode, George joins Mark to discuss the origins of the Meatlinc breed, the role performance recording has played in its development, and the current state of the UK sheep industry. They also discuss how a sheep breeding business evolved into one of the UK's leading turf producers and why the same principles of performance and continuous improvement underpin both enterprises.
George is also Chair of the Sheep Breeders Round Table and discusses this year's conference, where Mark will be a guest speaker.

UK Sheep Breeders Roundtable Conference 2026

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