Around the Camp: Wool Classer Cert, QLD maggots needed, Pain relief, Twin ewe BCS

  1. Fully subsidised Cert IV in Wool Classing
  2. Last chance to send in QLD maggots
  3. QLD pain relief statistics
  4. Twin bearing ewes should be 0.3BCS higher
  5. Upcoming events
  6. eBulletins and podcasts

Fully subsidised Cert IV in Wool Classing

TAFE NSW is offering their Wool Classers course fully subsidised (worth over $10,000)!

Whilst this is NSW State Government funded, to be eligible for the fee waiver you need to demonstrate a NSW address, there are situations where you may be eligible, such as if your work takes you into NSW. Anyone interested in this training is strongly encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Head Teacher Pauline Smith.

The course is a two year commitment and involves some face-to-face training sessions.

Contact us at Leading Sheep and we’ll put you in touch with Pauline.

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Last chance to send in QLD maggots

If you’ve still got the tail end of flystrike in your mobs, please send us your maggots! It’s our last chance to get maggot samples in for resistance testing and last count, Queensland submissions were still very low. There are free kits at Longreach and Charleville DAF offices, and collection is a simple matter of getting the right maggots (shown in the instructions) in the provided jar and sending the reply-paid envelopes off. In return you get an individual report on the chemical resistance profile on your property, and your deidentified results help the industry understand the progression of chemical resistance. If you’re not near a DAF office, you can get a kit sent straight to you by contacting us at Leading Sheep.

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QLD pain relief statistics

Did you know, Tri-Solfen does not provide effective pain relief when using the ring method for castration? According to the recently released 2021 AWI Merino Husbandry Practices Survey, 65% of respondents who used ring castration in QLD reported using Tri-Solfen, which is unsuitable.

Tri-Solfen is a wound spray, so is effective for mulesing, tail docking by knife and castration by knife. When ring castrating, injectable or oral Meloxicam or injectable lignocaine must be used.

19% of respondents in QLD use pain relief for castration. Of respondents (all states), reasons for using pain management products included (respondents could choose more than one):

  • it works/reduces pain (53%)
  • it improves animal health and welfare (44% )
  • lambs are quick to mother-up following treatment (35%)

AWI’s March issue of Beyond the Bale contains a concise outline of the trend in merino husbandry practices across Australia or the full report can be accessed here.

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Twin bearing ewes should be 0.3BCS higher

Did you know that twin bearing ewes should be 0.3BCS higher than single bearing ewes to improve lamb survival rates, according to Lifetime Ewe Management.

Scanning for multiples is ideally done between 80-100 days after rams were introduced to get an accurate result. It can be a really beneficial practice, but it is only worth doing if you plan to do something with the information. It can be useful to decide which ewes to sell first, to manage the size of mobs for lambing and to manage the ewes’ nutrition.

The Banks family from Blackall have reduced their mob sizes, using scanning data to segregate to mobs of 350 for twinning ewes and 500 for single bearing ewes. These changes did require new fencing and water infrastructure, as well as labour involved in tailored feeding to ewe requirements. As a result they have seen an improvement in lambing percentages (of ewes scanned in lamb) from 60-65% to 75-85% on average. To read more click here.

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Upcoming events

  • 28 April. Farming from your phone. St George. Delivered by ConnectAg. Click here for more information.
  • 29 April. Farming from your phone. Roma. Delivered by ConnectAg. Click here for more information.
  • 3 May. Innovation in Ag field day. Delivered by Agforce Central Queensland. Click here for more information.
  • 3 May. What’s your plan. Eulo. Delivered by Grazing Futures, DAF. Click here for more information.
  • 4 May. What’s your plan. Toompine. Delivered by Grazing Futures, DAF. Click here for more information.
  • 5 May. What’s your plan. Quilpie. Delivered by Grazing Futures, DAF. Click here for more information.
  • 19 May. State Sheep Show, Charleville

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Podcast, eBulletin and Surveys

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