Episode 11: Talking to Mark "Ferg" Ferguson about Optiewe and working with farmers
Mark "Ferg" Ferguson is a consultant who works with sheep farmers and breeders in New Zealand and Australia. He is CEO of neXtgen Agri who runs consultants in most places with sheep in New Zealand and Australia. He was involved in the science behind Lifetime Wool, which was very influential in the development of Challenge Sheep - AHDB-funded project that Nerys and Liz worked on. We talk about how their Optiewe programme is being brought to the UK, with Nerys and Liz currently collecting expressions of interest. The programme will launch on the 16th of October. Links mentioned:Link to Optiewe UK expression of interest Link to neXtgen AgriLink to Head Shepherd podcast Link to Lifetime WoolLink to Challenge Sheep Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS.Podcast Disclaimer:The views and information shared in this podcast are for general guidance only and do not constitute professional advice. The Sheep Geeks make no guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the content. Always consult your own vet or advisor before making changes to your animal health or farm management practices. Any reliance on the information is at your own risk. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Sheep Geeks.
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Episode 10: Talking to Ben Strugnell about healthy and not so healthy sheep, plus the need for applied research
Ben Strugnell is a vet with an obsession of learning as much as possible from dead animals. He runs Farm Post Mortems up in County Durham and also presents at various events around the country. This is a legacy from an EBLEX/AHDB funded project work with him over ten years ago. We talk about his findings and how he works with farmers to try and prevent further losses. He shares his frustration about the limited amount of applied research that is being funded in the UK at the moment.Links mentioned:Link to iceberg diseases manual - Iceberg diseases of ewes | AHDB Link to the fallen stock project from 2013 - Fallen stock: phase II | AHDB Link to SCOPS podcasts - Podcasts | SCOPS Song alamycin link - I’ll definitely be singing this... - Beltex Sheep Society | Facebook Farm post mortems - Farm Post Mortems Ltd. Carbon calling webpage Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS.Podcast Disclaimer:The views and information shared in this podcast are for general guidance only and do not constitute professional advice. The Sheep Geeks make no guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the content. Always consult your own vet or advisor before making changes to your animal health or farm management practices. Any reliance on the information is at your own risk. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Sheep Geeks.
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Episode 9: Talking to Kevin Harrison about getting ready for change, saxophones and sheep
Kevin Harrison is a farm manager on a sheep and arable farm near Bath. He spends time representing the UK sheep industry through the positions of Policy and Technical Chairman for the National Sheep Association (NSA), and Chairman of SCOPS - Sustainable Control of Parasite in Sheep. He is also a member of the Register of Sheep Advisers, and has been seen helping Jeremy on Clarkson's Farm! He is not a bad sax player either, and plays with the Harlem Rhythm Cats.We talk about how he has been changing the flock from an intensive mule based system to a outdoor lambing system with Exlanas.Links mentioned:-https://www.scops.org.uk/- https://www.facebook.com/harlemrhythmcats/?locale=en_GB- https://www.eastofengland.org.uk/scholars/Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS.Podcast Disclaimer:The views and information shared in this podcast are for general guidance only and do not constitute professional advice. The Sheep Geeks make no guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the content. Always consult your own vet or advisor before making changes to your animal health or farm management practices. Any reliance on the information is at your own risk. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Sheep Geeks.
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Episode 8: Talking to Awal Fuselini about halal, education and meat consumption
Dr Awal Fuselini is AHDB's Halal sector senior manager and also a 2025 Nuffield Scholar. He shares his knowledge about the Halal market in the UK and in other countries. We discuss stun and non-stun options for Halal slaughterings, and also the importance of people understanding more about the production systems. Maybe not one to listen to if you, or someone who is listening with you, is of a sensitive disposition.Plus the first time we use our new standard question - "what is your first memory of sheep?"Links mentioned:- Awal’s podcast link from apple https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-halal-food-podcast/id1611924158- Awal's Nuffield - Opportunities in halal | AHDB - Carbon Calling | Regenerative farming conferenceDr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS.Podcast Disclaimer:The views and information shared in this podcast are for general guidance only and do not constitute professional advice. The Sheep Geeks make no guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the content. Always consult your own vet or advisor before making changes to your animal health or farm management practices. Any reliance on the information is at your own risk. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Sheep Geeks.
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Episode 7: Talking to David and Cora Cooper about sheep and nature recovery
David and Cora Cooper are sheep farmers from Ayrshire. They have made significant changes to their system over the last few years to reduce costs and inputs. They are using mob grazing to drive nature recovery on their farm. In this podcast we talk about the changes they had made, the focus on low input sheep and their passion for regenerating their land. Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS.
Nerys Wright is an independent sheep consultant who loves talking about parasites and body condition score.Liz Genever is an independent sheep consultant who loves talking about grass, forage and soil, and body condition score.Together they are the sheep geeks. This podcast series launched October 2024. Liz and Nerys will be interviewing a range of sheep farmers, consultants, vets and academics from the UK and any other countries who have sheep.
UK