Head Shepherd

This week on the podcast, Shannon Donoghue joins us to talk about why she's so passionate about telling the story of wool. 
Growing up on a sheep property in South Australia, Shannon started off in the industry as a wool classer before stepping into her current role as an industry relations officer with AWI. Her work now involves helping producers better understand where levy investment goes and ensuring their feedback shapes research, development and marketing.
Alongside that, Shannon has built a significant following online, sharing drone footage and, more recently, "Weekly Wool Facts", a series to get more people interested and excited about sheep and fibre production. 
Shannon also explains the shift in consumer attitudes post-COVID and the move towards everyday wool in casual and athletic wear, rather than the standard woollen suit. 
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

How much do you hate daggy sheep? Well, what started as a frustration with daggy sheep ended up reshaping this week's guest’s entire farming system.

This week, Allan Richardson explains how his determination to eliminate daggy sheep ultimately led to three decades of organic farming and the adoption of regenerative principles.
He began by wanting to select for low dag score, but a local vet encouraged him to focus instead on worm resistance. Selecting for worm resistance made organic certification achievable. From there, Organic farming opened the door to regenerative principles focused on soil biology and long-term system health.

Farming inland from Dunedin in a summer wet climate, Allan shares his wisdom from nearly 40 years of selection for worm resistance, resilience, short tails and longevity. 
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

Tune in this week on the Head Shepherd podcast to hear Ferg discuss the 2025/2026 ram sale period across Australia and New Zealand. He explains his approach to selecting the right ram team and the decisions breeders have been facing when producing rams for sale in an increasingly data-driven market.
Ferg discusses the breeding values gaining attention, as well as buyer behaviour when information is available AND when it is missing. 
He also explains the neXtPredict tool developed in partnership with Weatherbys and how it can support producers who want to better understand the genetic merit of their ram teams or wider flock if they have been purchasing rams without breeding values. 

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

Are you heading to LambEx26? This week on the podcast we have LambEx chair, Jamie Heinrich, on the podcast to discuss one of the sheep industry’s largest gatherings, bringing together producers, researchers, service providers and supply chain leaders from around the world.
Held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, the event covers productivity, profitability, genetics, sustainability and the future direction of the sheep and lamb sector. 
Tune in to hear more about how you can join the conversation at LambEx.

Tickets on sale now:
https://www.lambex.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

Our guest this week, Angus Street, has worked across journalism, global agricultural marketing, Asian supply chains and livestock trading before stepping into the role of CEO at New Zealand Merino. In this episode, Angus reflects on taking on the role and guiding the organisation through a period of ongoing change across wool markets and supply chains.
He and Mark chat about New Zealand Merinos’ role in connecting growers directly with global brands, the thinking behind ZQ and ZQRX and also the impact of long-term contracts for farmers. Angus also shares where he sees the next real shifts coming for wool and agriculture as a whole.
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More information on the Australian National Poll Dorset Conference 2026
https://polldorset.org.au/events/national-poll-dorset-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: [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