The ewe flock forms the hub of a breeding enterprise and represents a significant capital investment for a farm business.
After selecting the best ewes, managing them for optimal performance is paramount for profitability.
Considerable research, in particular from the Lifetime Wool project, has shown that greater profits can be gained by managing ewe body condition score and weaner growth rates as well as pregnancy scanning to better allocate nutritional resources to late pregnant ewes.
Profits result from:
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Sheep CRC Practical Wisdom Notes is a series of technical notes to assist sheep producers to make sound decisions about technology and practices and then to have the know-how to implement their decisions.
The primary focus of High Performance Weaners (HPW) is to instill a 'measure-to-manage' approach that will provide participants with the key decision making tools for weaner management. HPW will help improve the reproductive performance of ewe lambs - particularly for prime lamb flocks.
The Sheep CRC, in partnership with Rural Industries Skills Training (RIST), presents a practical course focusing specifically on the nutrition and health issues associated with the ewe and develops participant skills in sheep assessment and feed budgeting, based on key information from the lifetimewool project.
High lamb prices and low supply mean that many producers are keen to build flock numbers, but how best to do it? Sheep CRC postgraduate student Cesar Rosales Nieto is looking at whether joining Merino ewes earlier, at 8-10 months rather than the traditional 18 months, may provide the solution. Mr Rosales Nieto’s research is aimed at developing guidelines to achieve consistent and cost-effective reproductive performance from...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/can-joining-merino-ewes-earlier-accelerate-the-flock-rebuild-30-04-2012.php
The reproductive performance of Australia’s sheep flock could be dramatically improved if producers retain their best ewes for just an extra year or two. New research from the NSW Department of Primary Industries, supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC) has shown that some older ewes can outperform their younger rivals, well beyond their traditional “use by” date. “Most...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/old-ewes-deliver-new-boost-to-national-flock-01-03-2012.php
Industry researchers are now a step closer to understanding the “get up and go” of lambs at birth, which could help producers improve survival rates and their overall on-farm productivity. By supporting new research through its postgraduate education programme, the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC) is looking at different ways to improve reproductive efficiency on Australia’s breeding...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/understanding-the-get-up-and-go-of-lambs-22-02-2012.php
Two new trainers are ready to help Tasmanian sheep producers overcome local problems, such as lamb survival rates, by forming groups for the popular Lifetime Ewe Management (LTEM) workshops. Such has been the impact on sheep industry productivity from LTEM courses that Rural Industries Skills Training (RIST) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC) have increased the capacity of the...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/ewe-management-success--ltem-in-tasmania-29-09-2011.php
A further 23 new deliverers are being trained across Australia to cope with sheep producer demand for the popular Lifetime Ewe Management (LTEM) workshops. Such has been the incredible impact on sheep industry productivity from LTEM courses that Rural Industries Skills Training (RIST) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC) is increasing the capacity of the program to allow more producer...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/ewe-management-success-drives-demand-14-09-2011.php
Sheep producers are on to a winner with the innovative Lifetime Ewe Management program. Not only are farmers reaping very large gains in productivity by managing ewes to condition score targets and increasing stocking rates, but a new study has found that the delivery model is also earning praise as a way of achieving industry-wide outcomes.
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/going-for-gold-with-lifetime-ewe-management-02-05-2011.php
Getting the most from sheep pregnancy scanning information is essential in lifting lamb survival across the flock. Nutrition of the ewe after scanning and the condition score of the ewe through pregnancy are major influences on lamb birth-weight and lamb survival at birth.
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/scanning-for-more-lambs-03-02-2011.php
Develop the skills and confidence to manage your weaners to achieve performance targets that improve animal welfare and whole farm profitability. The primary focus of High Performance Weaners (HPW) is to instill a 'measure-to-manage' approach that will provide participants with the key decision making tools for weaner management. HPW will help improve the reproductive performance of ewe lambs - particularly for prime lamb flocks.
The Sheep CRC, in partnership with Rural Industries Skills Training (RIST), presents a practical course focusing specifically on the nutrition and health issues associated with the ewe and develops participant skills in sheep assessment and feed budgeting, based on key information from the lifetimewool project.
These ½ day workshops focus on the management of pregnant ewes and give a good overview of joining, pregnancy and lactation as well as an introduction to some practical tools and skills. For those producers who have pregnancy scanned their ewes these workshops will help them get the most out of their scanned ewes. The workshops include some theory and practical hands-on sessions.
