Turning livestock data into profitable decisions

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Achieve Ag Solutions livestock consultant Scott Dennis believes it is time for the livestock industry to innovate.

At the 2016 BCG Sheep Management Showcase, held in Birchip on August 17, Mr Dennis asked farmers to consider what excites them about their industry and challenged them to think about what they can do to improve outcomes for their business, but that would also make their work enjoyable. 

He said the cropping industry and the adoption of technology such as auto steer and weed IT was evidence that farmers were willing and able to adopt change. 

Mr Dennis presented data that showed how technology such as eID could be used to identify sheep that were under performing and costing the business. 

“This can be done manually at the moment, but eID makes it more accurate, easier, faster and more likely to happen,” he said.

While sheep remain a secondary enterprise for the majority of farmers in the Wimmera and Mallee, Mr Dennis said there were a number of tools and practices that they could adopt that would help them to better manage the logistics of a dual enterprise business.

“Everyone’s enterprises and drivers for why they are working on the farm are different,” he said.

“It’s about understanding what you want out of your sheep and where you want them to be.”

On a practical level, Mr Dennis suggested electronic tags and a scanner offered a good starting point for collecting data, with contractors brought in at certain times to weigh the flock or to scan pregnant ewes.

Mr Dennis also had tips on how growers could improve lamb survival and drought-proof his farm.

https://youtu.be/xGrlLW4tg4A

 

 

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