INNOVATIONS in sheep feeders and trailers will be the focus at the Angaston Ag Bureau Hogget Competition on Thursday next week.
The 2014-15 season is proving the worst on record for producers with a record amount of supplementary feeding occurring.
There was a small reprieve with green-pick after the January rains, but it has dried-off.
Producers in the district strive for good natural resource management, and in an effort to maintain groundcover and root mass to stabilise soil, should a heavy rain event occur, producers have been supplementary feeding to maintain ewe condition and productivity, and increasingly more are transitioning to "confinement feeding".
The paddocks look bare - many are void of annual grasses, but still have root mass intact.
Local producers, suppliers and manufacturers will bring in their equipment, and share, 'why, how, and when' they are using it.
There should be five feeders and five trailers on display, resulting in the best 'one-stop inspection spot' ever assembled in the district, with brands including home-made, Bromar, Advantage, Kerin, Magnus, Sharman, T&R, Steele Steel and Ahrens-Agri.
The day will kick-off with an on-the-couch session with the 2014 Farmer Johns Open Study Tour winner Gerald Woidt, Coomandook, and local sheep producer David Woodard who will share the intricacies of his sheep breeding program.
Performance Feeds technical manager Damien Nankervis, Qld, will give an overview of autumn-early winter ewe nutrition and confinement feeding.
Mr Nankervis has developed his skills with a variety of positions in nutritional science, research, product development and quality assurance covering all commercial and companion animal species, and has worked extensively throughout Qld, NSW, Vic and New Zealand with sheep producers. He is also a member of the Australian Association of Ruminant Nutritionists board.
Producers are encouraged to register pens of hoggets by March 20.
In the morning, and prior to the competition, the Schools Merino Judging Challenge will be held.
It is a community and network building program to link students with the sheep industry and local producers and students from other schools.
This year 50 students from Birdwood, Faith Lutheran, Kapunda and Nuriootpa High Schools will compete.
The judge and trainers will run them through the finer points of hogget judging before the competition. AR Rhodes Wool merchants will give them an appreciation for wool and its target markets, and Cousins Merino Services will demonstrate wool objective measurements and discuss the National Merino Challenge for students in Adelaide in May.
They will then compete in groups of four for the trophy.
Sponsors and supporters include Sheep Connect SA, ANZ, Elders, Cousins Merino Services, Angaston Transport, AR Rhodes, Beaton Agencies, Anderson & Fawcett, Dalgety Wool, NAB Agribusiness, Michell, Truro Agencies, Bank SA, Treloar Contracting, Coopers Mount Pleasant, Simounds Transport, Farmer Johns and the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board.
Details: Ian Koch, 08 8563 9051.
