Farmers set to benefit from ewe efficiency project

Farmers set to benefit from ewe efficiency project

18 January 2007

A Meat & Wool New Zealand funded project aimed at raising ewe efficiency and production will begin next month with a series of workshops throughout the country.

FlockMaster™ is a Meat & Wool New Zealand initiative which AgResearch and PGG Wrightson will deliver as a learning and support programme designed to help sheep farmers improve productivity and lambing percentages.

Meat & Wool New Zealand Business Services General Manager James Smallwood says there will be two workshop streams: one will be aimed at farm consultants, influencers and advisors, who assist sheep producers, while the other targets around 3,000 sheep producers.

AgResearch Social Scientist Warwick Waters says a key feature of the workshops is that they won’t tell farmers a single recipe for best practice but will instead begin with a needs analysis for each farm, recognising “the practical experience of the farmers present and drawing on that”.

“Participants reflect on where they are now, and identify opportunities and the appropriate action for their farm. We look at the potential for each farm, given factors like size of flock, breed composition and type, and the farmers’ personal priorities.”

Workshop attendees will be provided with a take home CD Rom containing background information and a software platform that will easily integrate with farmers’ existing farm management infrastructure.

FlockMaster™ will take a structured approach to show sheep farmers how to monitor and review their own flock productivity. It will assist farmers to consider their individual mob and sheep flock performance, compare this performance against their perceived potential and identify best opportunities to change.

Robert Carter, a Taumarunui Sheep farmer and chairman of the Sheep Council says, “FlockMaster™ will help farmers and their advisers solve problems and fine tune their ewe flock performance – there is something for every operator.”

Dr Dynes says farmer consultation was a key component of the project’s design. “We knew it was important to get input from farmers before embarking on the project so we ran focus groups in both the North and South Islands to find out the sorts of issues facing farmers who are trying to increase ewe efficiency.”

The focus groups revealed that around 75 per cent of farmers thought that a technical tool for improving ewe efficiency would be useful. This supports earlier research by Meat & Wool New Zealand which indicated that 70 per cent of farmers were dissatisfied with their current productivity and lambing percentages.

“While there have been huge gains in ewe efficiency over the last 15 years, farmers need to become more efficient in order to meet the challenges of the international market-place. During these workshops we will present to farmers the key principles impacting on ewe efficiency and give them tools to monitor their own flock, diagnose best opportunities and act to change flock performance,” says Dr Dynes.

Nutrition, genetics, farm management systems, the types of rams used, pasture condition and conditions unique to individual farms all impact on ewe efficiency.”

King Country sheep farmer Ross Richards says “With the current shock to sheep profitability, farmers need to take stock of the situation and decide where to from here?

“FlockMaster™ will provide an excellent opportunity to analyse flock performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and design and implement a plan to capture those opportunities. These few hours could earn you thousands.”

Those interested in receiving information about a workshop in their area can phone 0800 FORFLOCK (0800 435 625) or email flockmaster@agresearch.co.nz

ENDS

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