Head Shepherd

Mark Ferguson

Mark Ferguson from neXtgen Agri brings you the latest in livestock, genetics, innovation and technology. We focus on sheep and beef farming in Australia and New Zealand, and the people doing great things in those industries. To learn more about neXtgen Agri, visit www.nextgenagri.com. 

  1. Leading The New Zealand Merino Company into its next chapter with Angus Street

    18 HRS AGO

    Leading The New Zealand Merino Company into its next chapter with Angus Street

    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. - 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: info@nextgenagri.com. Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    58 min
  2. Breeding Romneys for the rain at Kaituna Ridges

    JAN 25

    Breeding Romneys for the rain at Kaituna Ridges

    How do you breed sheep that thrive in wet coastal hill country without routine drenching? What traits actually matter when you're selecting for challenging conditions? This week on the podcast, Mark is chatting to Fred Gane, who runs Kaituna Ridges, an 800-hectare farm near Havelock and the Pelorus Sound in the South Island of New Zealand, alongside his wife Nikita. Kaituna Ridges comprises a mixed grazing operation that includes over 5,000 Romney sheep and 200 head of cattle, as well as a Romney stud. Fred breeds dual-purpose Romneys that thrive in their wet, coastal hill country conditions. They focus on targeted parasite management rather than routine drenching of adult sheep, maintaining pressure on structural traits and selecting for animals that perform consistently in their challenging conditions. Fred also discusses diversification through the family farm’s multiple enterprises, including their wool brand, Kaituna Ridges, which adds value to the fibre they produce, alongside their tourism business, bringing visitors onto the farm and showcasing their operation. - For more information on our fundraising efforts for the 'Cure Brain Cancer Foundation' visit this link: https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000 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, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    59 min
  3. Lessons from moving sheep genetics around the world with Ian McDougall

    JAN 18

    Lessons from moving sheep genetics around the world with Ian McDougall

    Ever wondered about farming New Zealand sheep in the UK, or considered farming UK shedding genetics in Australia? In this episode of Head Shepherd, Ferg speaks with Ian McDougall, a veterinarian whose career - and sheep - have taken him across Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Ian grew up on marginal country on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula before moving into veterinary work and artificial breeding. Over the past four decades, his work has involved embryo transfer, semen freezing and large-scale genetic movement between countries. Ian shares the lessons he's learnt about farming foreign genetics in different environments, and he and Mark also discuss the rise in popularity of shedding sheep across the globe.  ---- For more information on our fundraising efforts for the 'Cure Brain Cancer Foundation' visit this link: https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000 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, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    55 min
  4. How innovation is changing the wool industry with Sam Wan

    JAN 11

    How innovation is changing the wool industry with Sam Wan

    Growing up in Western Sydney with no connection to agriculture, Samantha Wan’s path into the wool industry was anything but typical. In this week's episode, Sam talks with Ferg about finding agriculture through high school ag, building confidence without a family farming background, and the role mentors and community played in shaping her career.  She and Mark discuss her work across the wool value chain, including auctioneering, technology and systems innovation within Elders, and the development of the world-first automated wool handling facility in Melbourne. Sam also shares why understanding the full journey of wool matters, from on-farm decisions through to market outcomes  Sam is a great example of what you can achieve if you really chase your goals in the agricultural industry.  ---- For more information on our fundraising efforts for the 'Cure Brain Cancer Foundation' visit this link: https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000 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, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    33 min
  5. Practical breeding strategies for commercial cattle producers with Carel Teseling

    JAN 4

    Practical breeding strategies for commercial cattle producers with Carel Teseling

    How can commercial producers use breeding values without recording full pedigrees? This week, Mark chats with Carel Teseling, Chief Operating Officer at Angus Australia, to find out.  Carel's career has taken him from South Africa's regional performance recording programs to 14 years of developing genetic tools for Angus Australia, a decade leading Australian Wagyu Association's genetics, and now back to Angus again, giving him unique insight into what actually works for producers across different systems and breeds. Carel begins by sharing the story behind South Africa's groundbreaking work in livestock genetics during the 1990s, as well as his early days tackling genetic conditions in Angus, and his time at the Australian Wagyu Association. After 10 years at the Australian Wagyu Association, Carel returned to Angus Australia in 2025 as Chief Operating Officer, where he's overseeing the parallel running of the trans-Tasman (TACE) analysis and Angus's new internal analysis.  He explains how the internal system has been in development for almost five years, includes new traits like immune competence and body condition, and uses different methodological approaches such as avoiding pre-adjustments on carcass data.  Angus Australia is letting breeders compare both systems to see how they re-rank animals. Carel explains that while there will be some re-ranking, both point in the same direction and will still guide breeders toward genetic improvement. Carel and Mark also cover Commercial breeding strategiesThe value of female data in maternal breedsHow to identify and cull poor-performing damsWhy commercial producers should pay attention to breeding values even without recording full pedigrees.---- For more information on our fundraising efforts for the 'Cure Brain Cancer Foundation' visit this link: https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000 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, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    1h 1m
  6. Ferg's thoughts on genetic gain

    2025-12-28

    Ferg's thoughts on genetic gain

    Ferg shares his thoughts on genetic gain in the sheep and beef industries. He has often said that we should be seeking to achieve a minimum of 2% genetic gain, but the top operators we deal with here at neXtgen Agri are consistently achieving 3-4%. Ferg explains how they’ve achieved that with the use of selection accuracy and the compounding effect of disciplined breeding decisions over time. Ferg also talks about what that genetic gain actually means for each farm and what traits we should be looking at to optimise performance. Some traits benefit all farms, no matter the location (things like worms, dags and feet), and others that are more system-specific.   ---- For more information on our fundraising efforts for the 'Cure Brain Cancer Foundation' visit this link: https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000 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, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    26 min
  7. Selecting for worm resistance in low-challenge systems with Swabtec

    2025-12-21

    Selecting for worm resistance in low-challenge systems with Swabtec

    What if measuring worm resistance didn't require high parasite burdens and ALSO delivered double the heritability of egg counts? Sarah Preston, Lecturer at Federation University and cofounder of Swabtec, explains the development of their saliva-based test designed to measure immune responses to gastrointestinal worms in sheep, allowing resistance to be assessed without relying on high worm egg counts. She and Mark discuss why egg counts often fail to reflect adult worm burden, particularly in mixed infections and with species that regulate egg production, and how this affects breeding and management decisions in well-managed, low challenge systems. They also discuss progress with the development and validation of Swabtec. Work is underway to validate the test across breeds and environments, with plans to develop breeding values as the data builds. The test has been found to have a heritability of 0.4 (compared to a heritability of 0.2 for WEC), meaning that flock improvements based on the insights and data from Swabtec testing can accelerate twice as fast! Find out more about Swabtec below: https://swabtec.com/ ---- For more information on our fundraising efforts for the 'Cure Brain Cancer Foundation' visit this link: https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000 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, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    38 min
  8. Individual ewe performance and the future of sheep productivity with Tara Dwyer

    2025-12-14

    Individual ewe performance and the future of sheep productivity with Tara Dwyer

    What limits ewe productivity in current sheep systems? Our guest this week, Tara Dwyer, is the breeding manager at Headwaters Genetics and a farm manager within the Lone Star Farms group. Her work covers stud breeding, commercial supply chains, and large-scale sheep systems. And, in amongst all of that, she has found time to do a Kellogg report, 'A New Fleece on Life: How the Sheep Farming Sector in Aotearoa Can Halt Terminal Decline to Secure a Sustainable and More Secure Future.' Starting with her 'day job', Tara and Mark discuss the value of genetics within a value chain, and how Headwaters is focusing on eating quality traits alongside maternal performance, resilience and low-input efficiency. Tara explains how and why Headwaters selects for intramuscular fat and fatty acid profiles while still prioritising reproduction, lamb survival and health traits. Mark and Tara then discuss her recent Kellogg report, which looks at why lambs weaned per ewe have barely shifted for decades, why carcass output improved while reproduction stalled, and why relying on ram breeders alone is not a reproductive strategy. Tara explains her findings on where current systems have plateaued, what existing technology already allows producers to measure, and why individual ewe performance will be one of the next major productivity levers. If you're interested in getting involved in the Head Shepherd TwentySix2000 campaign, click the link below: https://fundraise.curebraincancer.org.au/fundraisers/markferguson/twentysix2000 Strava link: https://www.strava.com/clubs/1858801 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, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week. Check out Heiniger's product range HERE Check out the MSD range HERE Check out Allflex products HERE

    44 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Mark Ferguson from neXtgen Agri brings you the latest in livestock, genetics, innovation and technology. We focus on sheep and beef farming in Australia and New Zealand, and the people doing great things in those industries. To learn more about neXtgen Agri, visit www.nextgenagri.com. 

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Ferguson
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    273
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Head Shepherd
  • Show Website
    Head Shepherd

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