In this edition
Bite sized videos to help with sheep management
Two DPIRD officers have developed a series of short videos briefly explaining how to assess pasture Feed on Offer (FOO), condition score sheep and feed budget for sheep.
Sheep Industry Scholarships program open
The Sheep Industry Business Innovation Scholarships are open for expressions of interest for projects to begin in semester 1, 2019.
Sheep Camp 2018 – a huge success!
Students enrolled in an agricultural-related tertiary course had a chance to put theory into practice at Sheep Camp 2018, hosted by agVivo and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Bite sized videos to help with sheep management
Two Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) officers have developed a series of short videos briefly explaining how to assess pasture Feed on Offer (FOO), condition score sheep and feed budget for sheep.
Research Officer Perry Dolling walks viewers through the steps to estimate pasture FOO by using pasture cuts and weights for FOO calculation on annual pastures and the Lifetimewool Feed on Offer Gallery.
The video also discusses how pasture composition and water content changes throughout the growing season needs to be considered when doing your calibrations.
Measuring condition score is important to gain an understanding of a ewe’s true nutritional status and wellbeing and a video has been produced to demonstrate how to condition score a sheep.
Development Officer Katherine Davies outlines the correct hand placement, what to feel for, how to score on a scale of one to five and what each of the scores means for production and profitability.
The information from the FOO and condition scoring videos are combined to work through a feed budget example.
The example uses the Lifetimewool break of the season feed budget table to identify the ewe’s current energy requirement, assess whether the pasture is adequate to maintain the ewe’s weight and condition score, and how much supplementation is required if pasture alone is not enough.
The break of season supplementary feeding calculator for pregnant and lactating ewe is also available online.
You can find more detailed information on annual pasture assessment, condition scoring and feed budgeting on the DPIRD website.
The production of these videos is a legacy of the Sheep Industry Business Innovation project with special thanks to the Muresk Institute for the filming location.
For more information contact Katherine Davies, development officer, Northam, on 9690 2169.
Sheep Industry Scholarships program open
The Sheep Industry Business Innovation (SIBI) Scholarships are open for expressions of interest (EOI) for projects to begin in semester 1, 2019.
The SIBI Scholarships program is designed to support and encourage individuals who wish to pursue further study by addressing key industry questions relevant to the sheep industry supply chain in Western Australia.
Since beginning in July 2017, the SIBI Scholarships program has approved five vocational and internship, four Honours and four PhD projects.
These projects cover a range of topics and research areas including:
- agricultural engineering to detect fly strike, mechanical and software packages for multi-lane autodraft systems, and sensor technologies to measure crop biomass for grazing management
- economic analysis of a supply chain to produce heavy out-of-season lamb
- production research including the role of dam water as a source of infection, effects of infectious disease in reproductive wastage, increasing lamb survival of multiple born lambs, and reducing mortality and reproductive wastage in young ewes
- understanding producers' attitudes towards industry change.
The program offers financial support of up to $5000 for Honours, up to $38 000 per annum for two years for Masters and three years for PhD projects, plus negotiable levels of operating expenditure for each. Students may also be invited for vocational or internship opportunities.
Expressions of Interest (EOI) for this round will close on 31 October 2018. The next available funding round will close 30 April 2019, ready for projects to start in semester 2, 2019.
Successful EOIs will be asked to submit a full project proposal as well as attending an interview with the assessment panel.
Applications will be assessed on their alignment to SIBI project priorities and research areas, linkage to Katanning Research Facility, project design and methodology, student academic performance, value of funding requested and other funding sourced, and the value of the project outcomes to the WA sheep industry.
For further information including the SIBI Scholarships funding guidelines and to access the SmartyGrants online application system, please visit the SIBI Scholarships webpage.
Sheep Camp 2018 – a huge success!
Students enrolled in an agricultural-related tertiary course had a chance to put theory into practice at Sheep Camp 2018, hosted by agVivo and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
Over the weekend of 6 and 7 October, eight students from Curtin and Murdoch Universities, descended on ‘Rylington Park’, Boyup Brook, for a weekend of hands-on learning and sheep activities.
Being part of a working farm, many local farmers and sheep industry experts also joined the students to share their knowledge.
Rylington Park Manager Marc Deas demonstrated ways of moving sheep around yards using low stress stockhandling principles and gave students a chance to put the principles into practice.
Marc also taught the students about drenching, vaccinating and drafting sheep and demonstrated tipping and holding sheep safely.
The Agribusiness, Animal Science and Animal Health students also learnt about activities at Rylington Park, including some of the farm research trials, before collecting dung samples for later analysis.
The students heard from a number of different presenters on topics including:
- becoming a livestock consultant (James Macfarlane, AgricUltra)
- feed on offer (FOO) and pasture cuts (Perry Dolling, DPIRD)
- carcase demonstration and different cuts of meat (Ron Evans, local retired butcher)
- breeding and genetics (Lynley Anderson, Anderson Rams)
- shearing and wool handling demonstration (Steve Thompson, local shearing contractor and trainer)
- business and office management (Peter Reid, local farmer)
- technology options in the sheep industry (Kelly Gorter, KG Livestock Services)
- careers in the sheep industry (Erin Gorter, agVivo).
Local sheep farmer Steff Carstairs put her working dog through its paces with a mob of sheep and then gave the students a chance to do it themselves.
The weekend was a remarkable success providing students with a chance to interact with industry people and get a tasteof activities completed on a farm throughout the year.
Feedback from the students suggested that the practical, hands-on component of the weekend was a particularly valuable experience and gave them the opportunity to apply what they had learnt at university, into a real farming context.
Local farmers and industry people involved in the event appreciated the chance to interact with the students, and discover what the future agricultural industry were learning at university.
If there is demand from students, the program may be run again next year.