Sheep farming is a diverse agricultural export enterprise for wool, meat and dairy production. This course is ideal for farmers, farmhands, farm supervisors, wool brokers or anyone who wants to raise sheep or improve their prospects on a sheep farm.

Our Certificate of Sheep Farming will give you insights into the sheep farming industry, including processes and techniques to market sheep and sheep products. In this sheep farming course, you will learn about terminology, nutrition, selection and breeding, wool production, sheep rearing and management systems, and disease management and prevention. You will also study feeding, the factors that affect wool yield, and sales and marketing techniques for sheep and related products.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a sheep farming course include:

• Learning about terminology and breeds
• Exploring sheep breeds and the factors that affect the choice of breed
• Gaining an understanding of climate and vegetation, internal parasites, product and market and rearing and management systems
• Studying UK breeds, including Dorset Horn, Suffolk and Romney
• Examining Australian and New Zealand breeds, including the merino, Border Leicester, Southdown, Polwarth and Turkdale
• Understanding South African breeds, including Damara, the Dormer, the Dorper and the South African mutton merino
• Attaining knowledge of the Ile de France and Ronderib Afrikaner
• Gaining insights into selection and breeding including oestrus, the gestation period, weaning, mouthing, selection, economically important traits, growth rate and reproductive efficiency
• Learning about carcass quality, wool traits, culling old ewes, reproduction and physical factors, selecting replacement ewes and rams, culling for age, and culling for reproductive performance and physical abnormalities
• Exploring how to buy a replacement ram, commercial sheep production, choosing a lambing time and the advantages and disadvantages of Autumn and Spring lambing
• Gaining an understanding of accelerated lambing, managing the ewe prior to mating, using hormones to control reproduction and managing the ram prior to the breeding season
• Studying joining (mating) methods, flock joining (group mating), and hand and individual mating
• Examining the anatomy of the ewe and ram reproductive organs, ultrasonic scanning of ewes, mating records and the signs of lambing
• Understanding the nutrition of sheep including sheep nutrition, condition scoring, loin transverse cross section and when to condition score
• Attaining knowledge of the factors affecting feed requirements, the animal’s production and environmental influences
• Gaining insights into feed requirements including feeding rams and ewes
• Learning about the reproduction and lactation stages and feeding lambs and fatteners
• Exploring nutrition and wool production, mineral needs and vitamins and waters
• Gaining an understanding of the common sheep diseases and disease prevention
• Studying viral and rickettsial diseases, contagious ecthyma (ORF, contagious pustular dermatitis, scabby mouth), contagious ophthalmia (ovine infectious keratoconjunctivitis), blue tongue (BTV), rift valley fever and Wesselbron disease, bacterial diseases, clostridial diseases and pulpy kidney (enterotoxaemia)
• Exploring internal parasites
• Gaining an understanding of the categories of drenches
• Studying the general management of commercial flocks including handling and dipping facilities, shower or power spray dips and foot baths
• Examining drenching, drenching practices and injecting
• Understanding hoof trimming, shearing, castration, tail docking and weighing and recording
• Attaining knowledge of the species of flies, blowfly strike and the factors affecting, types and control of fly strike
• Gaining insights into tail docking and mulesing and crutching
• Learning about the classes and unique characteristics of wool
• Exploring wool classing and processing, the factors influencing the estimation of yield, piece picking, wool scouring and carding
• Gaining an understanding of the marketing of sheep and sheep products
• Attaining knowledge of private selling, wool buying, AWC appraisers, the wool exchange and wool auctions, transfers and false packing, delivery and dumping, lamb and mutton marketing and paddock sales and sale yard auctions
• Gaining insights into over-the-hook sales, electronic marketing, live sheep exports and forward price contracts
• Learning about the factors affecting the value of lamb or mutton, carcass weight and skin value and payment bases (hot or cold weight)

And more!

Top Australian and New Zealand sheep breeds

Merio

This is the predominant breed of sheep in Australia. It was first introduced into the country in 1797 and over the years it was developed for wool production. It has also been used for cross-breeding with British Short Wool and Long Wool breeds for mutton and prime lamb production.

British Long Wool Breeds

These were originally bought to Australia for experimental purposes, and include:

• This sheep is hornless with a large frame.
• English Leicester. This is a hornless sheep with a large frame and black feet.
• Border Leicester. A large-framed, hornless sheep, it is a popular breed for producing first cross (Merino ewe x Border Leicester ram) ewes.
• This is a large-framed sheep with a white, hornless head that is free from wool. It produces prime lamb sires.
• Romney Marsh. This is a large-framed hornless sheep with has a white face and kemp fibres on its legs and face. When crossed with British Short Wool breeds, they produce high quality lamb.

British Short Wool Breeds

These are commonly known as Downs breeds. They have fine grain meat and are commonly used as prime lamb sires. They include:

• This sheep has a wide back and a small, chunky frame. Its head is well-covered with wool and it has no horns.
• Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset. These are renowned as prime lamb sires and are usually mated to Merino, British Long Wool or Merino cross ewes.
• This is hornless sheep with a wide back, a medium blocky frame and black legs, hooves and head. The White Suffolk is an Australian breed that has been developed for Australian conditions. It is predominately a meat sheep breed.
• This is a well-developed, lean and heavily-muscled sheep. It is predominately a meat breed.

Australasian Breeds

These include:

• This is a dual-purpose sheep and was developed by mating purebred Merino ewes with English Long Wool Lincoln rams. They have a large framed body and a polled head, dark hooves and wooled legs.
• This is a dual-purpose sheep bred from a Lincoln-Merino Cross. It has a large framed body and is well wooled. Equal emphasis is placed on meat and wool production.
• This sheep is a result of combining Border Leicester and Romney Marsh bloodlines and was developed in New Zealand. It has excellent mothering and milking ability.

Snapshot of the Sheep Meat and Wool Industry

As you’ll learn in our sheep farming course, Australia is a major producer and exporter of sheep products. In fact, according to the Wool Producers Australia and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), the country is the largest exporter of sheep meat and prime quality fine wool. It encompasses:

A diverse landscape

Australia’s sheep industry is an extensive pasture-based industry, with an average flock size of around 2000 sheep. Sheep are produced in a wide range of climates — from the arid and semi-arid parts of the inland regions to the medium to high rainfall areas of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, southern Western Australia and Tasmania. Sheep are grazed on pastures year-round, with supplementary feeding occurring when there are pasture shortages.

Commitment to the industry

The nature of Australia’s unique landscape brings numerous challenges to farming, which have led to innovative methods of production. Investment in research, innovation and development through the levy scheme also ensures that farming practices remain competitive.

The sheep industry has two Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) — Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA). Both RDCs invest in producer levies and matched funds from the Australian Government in research, information, development and marketing.

Sustainable sheep production

Sheep play an integral role in the ability of Australian farmers to sustainably manage the land. Sheep producers work to protect, preserve and improve the natural resources and biodiversity on their farms and manage an estimated 65.8 million hectares of land.

When managed well, sheep can regenerate the land on which they graze by initiating the regeneration of pastures, controlling and managing weed infestation, and encouraging an increase in soil biota diversity. By supporting, protecting and encouraging biodiversity in the soil, insect life, vegetation and fauna, sheep producers can ensure farm ecosystems thrive.

Wool is a natural, biodegradable and renewable fibre. Wool-producing sheep are shorn at least once a year, and sheep are often retained by the same producer over their lifetime. This maintains bloodlines and genetics over many generations.

Integrity and quality systems

The sheep industry takes quality standards seriously — from the demonstration and reporting of specific measures to anticipating and establishing customer specifications. These sophisticated traceability systems guarantee the integrity of Australia’s wool products and sheep meat to customers.

The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) provides identification and lifetime traceability of sheep. The national Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) is an on-farm assurance program covering animal welfare, food safety, biosecurity and traceability. It protects the disease-free status of Australian

sheep and underpins the reputation of products as safe, clean and natural.

The Australian National Wool Declaration (NWD) and Classers’ Specifications are the standardised mechanisms by which  woolgrowers declare specific wool quality, on-farm practices and traceability. Australian wool is bought and sold with an International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) test certificate that characterises all critical features of each bale of wool.

The Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Sheep apply to all those responsible for the care and management of sheep. They are based on current scientific knowledge, community expectations, and recommended industry practice.

Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework

The Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework was released in 2021 by the Australian sheep meat and wool industry and led by Sheep Producers Australia and Wool Producers Australia. It was initiated to identify areas for improvement, demonstrate sustainable practices and better communicate with consumers and customers. It is insightful reading for those interested in undertaking a sheep farming course.

The Framework has four themes:

1. Caring for our sheep. Which involves (a) Animal care and handling – reducing, refining and replacing painful husbandry practices, implementing best practice sheep management and ensuring humane processing and on-farm euthanasia and (b) Animal health – preventing and managing disease.
2. Enhancing the environment and climate. Which involves (a) Environment – improving natural resource management, responsible environmental practices and encouraging biodiversity and (b) Climate change – reducing net greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to a changing climate, including extreme weather events.
3. Looking after our people, our customers and the community. Which involves (a) Health and safety – improving industry safety culture and improving our people’s health, (b) Capacity building – supporting and growing the workforce and encouraging workforce diversity, and (c) Contributing to the community – enhancing community trust and delivering products that customers demand.
4. Ensuring a financially resilient industry. Which involves (a) Profitability, productivity and investment – maintaining or increasing industry profitability, maintaining or increasing the contribution to the Australian economy, increasing productivity, and encouraging innovation, and (b) Market access – ensuring positive market positioning and access and guaranteeing product integrity and safety.

 

Enhance your awareness of sheep and the sheep industry to work with sheep or develop a start-up farm with a sheep farming course such as our Certificate of Sheep Farming.