This week, Ferg chats with Greg Mirams, founder of Tection/FECPAK. What started as a tool to do worm egg counts on farm has evolved into a digital platform that reads samples using AI, returns results in minutes, and is helping farmers tackle drench resistance head-on.

They cover the early days of FECPAK, how AI is speeding up diagnosis, what species ID could unlock for breeders, and why post-treatment testing matters more than ever.

• Why drench resistance is no longer a “maybe” and what farmers can actually do about it

• How AI now reads worm egg counts in minutes

• The upcoming ability to identify worm species, making treatments far more targeted

• How egg count data is being used to track contamination, inform grazing plans, and map resistance across regions

https://fecpak.com/nz

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: info@nextgenagri.com.

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

This week, we have Charlie from Stonyhurst on the show. Charlie and Ferg have worked together for a long time, both passionate about breeding healthy, productive sheep. They discuss how Stonyhurst has managed to breed finewool sheep that don't need footrot treatment, improving lambing and weaning percentages, and dropping their micron.

Charlie also discusses Stonyhurst's cattle and deer operation and some of the 175 years of history his family have there on the property.

If you breed finewools sheep and you've been wondering how to fix your footrot woes, this podcast is the one for you.

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: info@nextgenagri.com.

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE

This week we’re joined by Prue Simson, who’s gone from managing the chaos of the Olympics and Formula One to running one of regional Australia’s busiest agricultural venues, The Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre in Tamworth.

Whilst this is slightly different to our normal podcast, Prue's experience leading teams under pressure, dealing with legacy and change and large-scale event management is all relevant to managing a farm, especially around planning for the unexpected, building strong networks, and handling tough conversations well.

-The power of planning for what might go wrong

-How to build a team that thrives under pressure

-Why networks are your best bet in a crisis

-And how she’s balancing career ambition with raising a young family

Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: info@nextgenagri.com.

Thanks to our sponsors at MSD Animal Health and Allflex, and Heiniger Australia and New Zealand. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE
Check out the MSD range HERE
Check out Allflex products HERE