Head Shepherd

Mark Ferguson
  • 5.0 (7)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

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. Breeding Romneys for the rain at Kaituna Ridges

    2D AGO

    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, owner of Kaituna Ridges, an 800-hectare farm above Havelock and the Pelorus Sound in the South Island of New Zealand, alongside his wife Nikita. Fred runs 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, which involves 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 that brings visitors onto the farm and showcases 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
  2. 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.  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
  3. 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 and is a true asset to the Agricultural industry.  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
  4. 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. 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
  5. Ferg's thoughts on genetic gain

    12/28/2025

    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.   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
  6. Selecting for Worm Resistance in Low-Challenge Systems with Swabtec

    12/21/2025

    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 where they are with the development and validation of Swabtec. They are currently working to validate the test across breeds and environments and are planning to develop breeding values as the data builds. The test has been found to have a heritability of 0.4 compared to the WEC of 0.2 meaning flock improvements based on insights and data from Swabtec can occur twice as fast! Find out more below: https://swabtec.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, 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
  7. Individual ewe performance and the future of sheep productivity with Tara Dwyer

    12/14/2025

    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 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 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
  8. Results from the 'Genetics of foot health in Merinos' project with Gus Rose

    12/07/2025

    Results from the 'Genetics of foot health in Merinos' project with Gus Rose

    Gus Rose shares the recent results from the 'Genetics of foot health in Merinos' project, which is looking at footrot and foot structure in sheep in Australia. Gus shares what the data shows on the heritability of foot shape and its relationship with footrot, as well as other foot structure traits.  Gus Rose explains how the dataset is being built, which traits are proving to be correlated, and where the current limits sit. Gus and Mark discuss the project's future and the significance of the results for the industry.  If you would like to know more about how to get involved, please email Amy at amy@nextgenagri.com The project is funded by Australian Wool Innovation, Animal Health Australia and collaborating Merino breeders, and is being conducted by Murdoch University and neXtgen Agri in collaboration with AGBU and SheepMetrix.  You can view our webinar here: https://thehub.nextgenagri.com/c/articles/live-genetics-of-foot-health-in-merinos 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

    32 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 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
    272
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Head Shepherd
  • Show Website
    Head Shepherd

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