Leading Sheep 2011-2015

The Leading Sheep 2011-2015 project aimed to help Queensland’s sheep and wool producers increase their long-term productivity and profitability.

Outstanding survey results show just how the Leading Sheep project has driven improved practices on Queensland sheep and wool properties.  Survey feedback revealed a remarkable 75 per cent of attendees intended to make a change in their business as a result of what they learned at Leading Sheep events.  Ninety-six per cent of participants would recommend the events to others and 93 per cent gained new knowledge.

During the project period, Leading Sheep saw almost 3000 sheep and wool enthusiasts attend one or more of the 97 events held to deliver practical and valuable information from expert guest speakers.  These attendees received information covering the key project themes of predation, animal nutrition, animal health, business optimisation and marketing and selling wool and sheep meat. One-third of the participants were women and almost 20 per cent were under the age of 35 years.

Around the Camp eBulletins were distributed to almost 1200 subscribers enabling efficient dissemination of the latest information to sheep and wool producers.  Membership and participation in Leading Sheep increased by 33 per cent from 2011 to 2015 which shows ongoing education and extension, leading to the uptake of new information and technologies, is clearly valued by Queensland’s sheep businesses.

In 2015 the Leading Sheep website had over 100 pages of quality information relevant to Queensland sheep and wool producers. This included 32 recorded webinars which had a total of 7304 views.  A series of three webinars on Donkeys, Alpacas and Maremmas as guardian animals accounted for just over half of these views.

Leading Sheep also developed a comprehensive evaluation plan and spreadsheet to capture data for ease of communication and reporting.

Leading Sheep is a joint initiative of Australian Wool Innovation and Department of Agriculture and Fisheries with support from AgForce. It assists decision-making through technologies and practices that can increase the profitability and productivity of Queensland sheep businesses.

For more details about this project please read the final report (PDF, 591 KB).

When: 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2015

Contact: Nicole Sallur

Collaborators: Australian Wool Innovation and Department of Agriculture and Fisheries with support from AgForce