An ongoing study of udder defects in ewes has raised timely new information for farmers, says a Massey University professor.

Shifting away from the common 28-day drench routine could help reduce resistance development and even improve livestock productivity, says an animal health company. 

A calm temperament in ewes improves ovulation rate and successful pregnancies, according to a study published by The University of Western Australia (UWA). 

Growing more lambs in the shoulder season is among proposals for maximising the value of New Zealand lamb in a new report from Rabobank.

Lambing is looming closer and if you have a young dog that isn’t showing much enthusiasm for sheep take advantage of the window of opportunity this season offers.

Field studies are currently underway to find out if there’s a relationship between drenching pregnant sheep with long-acting drenches and lamb mortality.

If you were to look at the range of lamb daily growth rates on sheep farms in New Zealand you would find a huge range from as low as 80g to 350g+/lamb/day.

A North Island trial comparing the value of lambs sired by low versus high genetic merit rams validates that using genetic data does pay off.

While the lowest lamb crop in 60 years should support prices, the market is being swamped by other factors at present, says the ASB in its weekly commodities report.

Roger Tweeds runs 2300 Romney ewes and 200 hoggets on his 300ha farm near Lawrence, Central Otago.