SHEEP producers considering moving to a non-mulesed flock will have the management impacts and market opportunities outlined at a workshop in Dunkeld next month.
Lisa Warn Ag Consulting and the Western Victoria ‘Towards NM Sheep’ group will host the “Transitioning to a Non-Mulesed flock” workshop on 26 October, with the support of Meat & Livestock Australia and Nutrien.
Industry specialists will cover the following topics:
Market trends and opportunities for wool and meat – Robert Herrmann, Mecardo;
Breeding and selection, including assessing flock status – Emma McCrabb, MLA;
Management considerations — Lisa Warn;
Pain relief options at lamb marking and best practice tail docking – Dr Joan Lloyd;
Tools to help you develop your plan to move to and maintain your flock as non-mulesed.
Participants will also hear from local sheep producers who have recently ceased mulesing through to those who stopped 10-plus years ago. The producers will share their experiences, approaches and key learnings.
The program will also include the preliminary results from the MLA Producer Demonstrations being run by members of the Western Victoria “Towards NM Sheep” group, who are evaluating managing dag, tail docking methods and trialling a small mob of NM sheep.
To register for the event go to: https://www.trybooking.com/CCPZG
In the “tools to help you develop your plan to move to and maintain your flock as non-mulesed” they would be well advised to study closely the benefits of liquid nitrogen as a proven non-mulesing technique for avoiding fly strike which does not involve surgery, the shedding of blood or significant pain.
‘LN’ should be a separate and distinct category in this regard on the National Wool Declaration. What is the justification as a matter of logic for resisting this? As always, follow the money.
Andrew, LN has been a distinct category on the National Wool Declaration since 23 July 2022: https://www.awex.com.au/standards/national-wool-declaration-nwd/
Not really. It is lumped in with mulesing as a category in the NWD and not treated on its own merits.
Just read the NWD.