Productivity and Profitability Media Series

Long before virtual fencing became available, Michael Gooden from OId Man Creek was measuring grass, matching stocking rate to carrying capacity and building a cattle breeding programme around animals that could thrive in a pasture-based system. 

On a mixed farming operation west of Wagga Wagga, Michael has spent the past two decades refining his grazing management using high-frequency cell grazing with temporary polywire. In early 2026, Michael transitioned to virtual fencing using Halter collars across 190 animals and has changed from driving to the farm for every-other-day shifts to two or three moves a day from a cafe in W...

How do you breed a lamb that consistently delivers a better eating experience?

For decades, sheep producers have been selecting for traits they could easily measure, including growth, fertility and lean meat yield. But eating quality has remained far more difficult to quantify, despite being one of the biggest drivers of consumer satisfaction and long-term demand.

On this episode, Mark chats with David Packer, Program Manager – CarcaseValue at Meat & Livestock Australia, to explore how advances in meat science are changing that.

David explains why carcase value is ultimately driven by two ke...

Input costs continue to rise, but according to Ken Solly, that is no excuse for standing still. In this episode, Ken joins our new host, neXtgen Agri CEO Mark Ferguson, to discuss why producers need to understand their own rate of inflation, benchmark their business against itself, and continually look for gains in productivity rather than relying on strong market prices to protect margins.

Drawing on decades of experience working alongside livestock producers, Ken explains why the businesses that thrive are often the ones that spend less time worrying about factors beyond the farm gate and more...

Welcome to Episode 20 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series! In this episode, we're joined by Dr Gordon Refshaugee to explore fertility and fecundity in Australian sheep flocks over the past decade. 

Your host, Ellie Hays, and Gordon discuss the average pregnancy rate in Australian sheep flocks and share practical tips to improve fertility and manage the resulting obligations.

To watch our webinar with Gordon head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.com.au)

To access Gordon's research paper head to: An analysis of fertility and fecundity in the Australian s...

Welcome to episode 19 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Tim Gole from For Flocks Sake. Tim and I will dive into all thing BredWell FedWell and setting up your breeding flock for success. 

Your host, Ellie Hays and Tim discuss the importance of pre-joining exams, body condition scoring, scanning, ASBVs and how eID's can be used as an advantage.

To find out more on anything was discussed throughout this podcast, visit For Flocks Sake website https://www.flockssake.com.au/.

To watch our webinar with Tim head to: P...

Welcome to episode 18 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Ed Riggall from AgPro Management. Ed and I will dive into integrating livestock into mixed farming systems with the main focus on summer nutrition. 

Your host, Ellie Hays and Ed briefly discuss on a life on a consultant before diving into summer nutrition, feed requirements for sheep, different grains and much more.

To find out more on anything was discussed throughout this podcast, visit AgPro Management website https://agpromanagement.com. Alternatively you can email Ed via ed@agpromanagement.com for any r...

Welcome to episode 17 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Natalee Johnston from Skilful Decisions. Natalee Johnston was the Royal Australian Navy’s first female pilot and with over 24 years of military experience, Natalee has led teams in high-stakes situations, taught as a helicopter instructor, and now runs her own consultancy focusing on human factors, risk management, and safety across various industries. 

Your host, Ellie Hays and Natalee discuss what you can do to manage high workloads and pressure. Natalee will share her insights on safety culture and risk management and why these ski...

Welcome to episode 16 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Deb Scammell from Talking Livestock. Deb dives into the key questions around mineral supplementation for beef and sheep. 

Your host, Ellie Hays and Deb discuss the importance of mineral supplementation, when they need supplements and which essential minerals to focus on. Find out how minerals interact in the body, the risks of excess and how to evaluate products to ensure  you're choosing the most effective and cost-efficient options. 

To watch our webinar with Deb head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Aus...

Welcome to episode 15 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Matt Ferguson from NeXtgen Agri. Mark talks about the importance of embracing change to continue to be successful in agriculture.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Mark discuss exciting technologies including genomics, robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and big data. They discuss the impact that these technologies have on agriculture currently and in the future. 

This episode introduces the concept of conducting a pre-mortem of your business to prepare for the future.

To watch our webinar with Mark head to: P...

Welcome to episode 14 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Elke Hocking from Elke Hocking Consulting. Elke talks about the importance of measuring and monitoring to manage for reproductive success in heifers. 

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Elke discuss that by proactively managing weaner heifers to achieve critical mating weight targets and condition scores prior to joining (60% of SRW prior to heifer joining and 85-90% of SRW prior to second joining), beef businesses have the potential to improve the reproduction rates in their heifers and second calving cows.

This episode covers t...

Welcome to episode 13 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Callen Thompson from AgSTAR Projects. Callen talks about growing beef from dairy, the benefits, barriers and next steps for the industry. 

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Callen discuss the importance of relationships and understanding what the end user of your product wants. Callen highlights the benefits of dairy beef, including carbon emissions, eating quality and consistency of supply. Beef and dairy producers looking to get involved in the Dairy-Beef supply chain need to breed, feed and manage their calves with their end market i...

Welcome to episode 12 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Sally Martin from SheepMetriX. Sally talks about how electronic identification can be used in your business to add value. 

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Sally discuss the importance of being clear on what you want to achieve when collecting data. Sally highlights that there are multiple avenues for data collection using eID and it is how you efficiently use this data that will enable you to reap the benefits.

Sally's key steps for getting started with eID technology are:

Welcome to episode 11 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This special edition episode features Dr Shane Thompson from Holbrook Vet Clinic, Ed Rigall from AgPro Management and Felicity Turner from Turner Agriservices. In this episode we discuss the business, pasture and livestock management considerations when managing a late seasonal break or failed autumn period. 

Your host, Tanisha Shields speaks to the specialist panel about the importance of assessing and managing business risk to make informed decisions to manage the failed autumn. We discuss how to conduct a supplementary feeding analysis, including which stock t...

Welcome to episode 10 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Anne Collins of AC Ag Consulting. Anne talks about how to maximise dorper reproductive performance, particularly in challenging environments. 

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Anne discuss how to utilise condition scoring as a management tool to inform decision making, the importance of pregnancy scanning and how to use the scanning results to improve flock reproductive performance. 

Shedding sheep breeds are a relatively easy-care, low labour input, enterprise option for producers, particularly mixed farmers who have multiple enterprises competing for their time.  The...

Welcome to episode 9 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Dr Jason Condon from Charles Sturt University. Jason talks about how implementing improved soil sampling intervals will enable better decisions about liming.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Jason discuss the movement and effect of liming to address lower soil acidity layers. We also discuss the how the management of acid soils removes one of the manageable constraints of the production system. 

Dr Jason Condon is Associate Professor in Soil Science at Charles Sturt University and has taught and researched soils there s...

Welcome to episode 8 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Shawn McGrath from Charles Sturt University. Shawn talks about the role of dual-purpose crops in livestock production businesses. 

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Shawn discuss the benefits of dual-purpose crops, when to sow a dual-purpose crops and how to manage grazing with different livestock species. We also discuss the complexities associated with dual purpose crops and how they alter the feed production curve for your business. 

To watch our webinar with Shawn head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.co...

Welcome to episode 7 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Cam Nicolson from Nicon Rural. Cam talks the carbon space which is rapidly evolving, we should expect the ‘rules’ and assumptions to change in the future.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Cam discuss why you should care about carbon, where it all began and how to get an understanding of the emissions in your business. 
We discuss emissions intensity (amount of emission per unit of product) and why this should be your focus in the next few years, not carbon neutrality.

C...

Welcome to episode 6 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Sally Murfet from InspireAg. Sally talks about the importance of managing and working with people in agriculture.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Sally discuss the internal and external factors impacting human agronomy, the importance of clarity, communication and culture and how to get the recruitment process right.

To watch our webinar with Sally head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.com.au)

To access the people in ag website head to: People in Agriculture

This...

Welcome to episode 5 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features John Francis from Agrista. John talks about how to drive production in your business to manage risk and cost of production to drive profitability.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and John discuss what some of the targets for production are, how to design a cost structure to meet these production targets and to remove the focus on chasing price.

John talks about the importance of system design in livestock enterprises, ensuring you are matching feed supply and feed demand in order to...

Welcome to episode 4 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Dr Jillian Kelly from Animal Health and Nutrition Consulting. Jill talks about how containment feeding can be a proactive management strategy for drought, fire, flood or to meet production targets.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Jill discuss why to use containment areas, how to set up a containment area and some of the challenges Jill and her clients have overcome in their experience using containment areas.

Jill talks about the importance of data and careful planning with regards to nutrition and...

Welcome to episode 3 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Basil Doonan, Technical Director of Pinion Advisory. Basil speaks about how to manage your pastures during spring, in wet, dry and average seasons.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Basil discuss why spring is the time to "attack" your pasture management, how to deal with excess feed, how to assess and manage pasture quantity and quality. Basil shares insight on how to assess which livestock are the most profitable for your business when deciding to supplementary feed in dry seasons.

Basil talks...

Welcome to episode 2 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Dr Penny Schulz, Livestock Technical Specialist with the SA Drought Resilience, Adoption and Innovation Hub. Penny presents an overview of what a value chain approach is, what this means for livestock producers and how genetics play a role.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Penny discuss meeting market specifications, understanding your target market and setting breeding objectives to achieve your profitability goals. Penny shares information about a number of resources that are available to help producers identify their target market and set their breeding...

Welcome to episode 1 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Phil Graham, of Graham Advisory, who presents a current seasonal update and implications of this for producers.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Phil discuss how to assess your exposure to a dry spring, taking into account the impact across southern Australia.  Phil shares information about a range of tools and resources that are available to help producers assess current soil moisture.

Phil talks about how producers can make the most of a below average spring through better pasture quality.

T...