Ever wondered what's actually happening inside an overgrown hoof? And can you fix it once the damage is done?

Our guest this week looked into just that. Dr Laura Deeming did her PhD with Massey University and AgResearch on dairy goat hoof health. Many dairy goats are not hoof trimmed until their first lactation, which, at that point, feet can already be very overgrown.

One of her key questions was whether starting trimming earlier would help lifetime foot health. Laura worked with equine vets to X-ray the internal structures of overgrown hooves pre- and post-trimming. She found the joint angles and bone rotation inside the lower hoof were significantly affected by hoof overgrowth. Research in the dairy cattle world has shown that bones actually start to remodel within the hoof, resulting in bony growths and distortion, which is why you end up with chronically lame animals if you do not trim frequently enough.

As part of her PhD, Laura also developed a 5-point gait scoring system to help identify lameness earlier so that these long-term issues wouldn't occur.

Initially, using the systems in place at the time, 81% of animals came back "normal". When she re-scored them using her scoring system that included an "uneven gait" category, only 36% were classified as "normal".

This allowed animals to be identified before they were severely lame or overgrown and long-term issues were caused, and it also proves that a more detailed scoring system improves the precision of measurement.

Mark and Laura also discuss the role of hoof colour, white line separation, foot baths, and the genetic component to hoof conformation.

A great listen for any foot-health nerds out there!

You can read Laura's thesis here:

https://mro.massey.ac.nz/items/d72eb0f2-8fa1-4516-9a1a-273a822b4d8e

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, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out the MSD range HERE

Check out Allflex products HERE

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE

Check out ProWay's product range HERE

Willy McSkimming is modernising the shearing industry with a new app and an improved focus on wool classing and quality. After 23 years running a major contracting operation with his wife Tess, he's now doing things differently. Not happy with being left behind in comparison to other industries, and considering theres an "app for everything", Willy decided to develop an app for the shearing industry whilst healing from a knee replacement.

Tune in to hear Willy explain what the app does, as well as his newly appointed Operations & People Lead, Nic Blanchard.

Check out the app here:

https://www.theshearingboard.app/

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, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out the MSD range HERE

Check out Allflex products HERE

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE

Check out ProWay's product range HERE

How do you actually pick which heifers to keep? For many, selecting the top ones is easy, but it's those middle ones that are hard to choose between.

For this week's guest, Geoff Hayes, the answer is genomics. Geoff and his wife Belinda started their Angus stud just 5 years ago, but began their genomic journey early, not wanting to pick bulls on looks alone from the very beginning.

"I was hesitant just to go and pick them visually," Geoff explains. "We need to put some science into it."

They began with a base genomic test across a random selection of purchased cattle, which showed them that they were fine for IMF, but needed to increase ribeye area, and that became the main basis of their early selection focus.

Over time, that focus shifted. Rather than just chasing carcass traits, they started looking for sires out of cow families with longevity in the background. This introduced more of a focus on the maternal and stayability traits.

Geoff still tests his own weaners before deciding which ones to keep and that same mindset is now extending to heifers, with Geoff part of MLA's heifer PDS project. The project involves genotyping heifers, alongside visual measurements to help guide replacement decisions. This project is ongoing, and we will have results to share in the coming years.

Mark and Geoff finish by talking about where the beef industry is headed with record property and beef values, as well as the possibilities of new technology just around the corner.

Optimised Heifer Selection is a Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project funded by Meat & Livestock Australia and facilitated by neXtgen Agri. Geoff Hayes is a core producer demonstration site for this project. If you would like to learn more about this PDS project, you can visit the Heifer Selection Hub page or contact: Georgia Pugh, neXtgen Agri M: +61 408 947 488 E: georgia@nextgenagri.com

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, Heiniger Australia and New Zealand, and ProWay Livestock Equipment. Please consider them when making product choices, as they are instrumental in enabling us to bring you this podcast each week.

Check out the MSD range HERE

Check out Allflex products HERE

Check out Heiniger's product range HERE

Check out ProWay's product range HERE