
All aspects of shedded sheep will be discussed at the Hamilton event.
THE pros and cons of switching to shedding sheep will be outlined at a free Meridian Agriculture workshop in Hamilton on 12 July.
The ‘Becoming a Nudie’ event hosted by Meridian Agriculture on behalf of Cashmore Park will present the economics of shedding sheep versus maternals.
It will outline the transition while retaining profit-driving traits for fitness and meat production, and how to use feed efficiency to improve ewe performance and reduce a farm’s carbon footprint.
There will be pens of sheep on display and carcase cutting demonstration to provide insights into meat marbling in prime lambs.
Speakers will include:
Bryony Fitzgerald – CGM Advisory Pty Ltd – Economics of shedders vs maternals, the transition from maternal to shedding sheep, transition timeline and effects, the accelerated program and the bottomline for each operation.

John Keiller with some Nudie sheep.
John Keiller – Cashmore Park — Shedding scores and how they work, time of shedding, what to be aware of when transitioning to Nudies, what do you want to achieve and the ways to get there, and data collection process for Nudies (AGBU project).
David Packer – program manager Meat Standards Australia, MLA — Meat eating quality parameters, the market acceptance benchmarks for marbling and shear force, what a kill sheet looks like when marbling and lean meat yield are included, and linking to estimated breeding values.
Sam Walkom – Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU), UNE — Ewe efficiency concept, ewe weight, turn off lamb percentage and growth, lambing as ewe lambs, net feed intake and emission breeding values as future tools, know your carbon footprint and the opportunities with genomics.
Peta Bradley – manager of Sheep Genetics, MLA — Transition of new genetics, things to be aware of, net feed intake measurements and relationship to reducing methane production, and portable trailers to measure methane production in stud flocks – MLA’s plans.
The event will be held at the Hamilton Showgrounds. Registration will start at 9.30am and the event will run from 10am – 4pm. Lunch will be provided. Click here to RSVP for the event by 10 July 2023.
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