SmartEWE Smart Markets
SmartEWE aims to lift the bar on ewe performance.
The project applies Smart Shepherd technology to measure individual ewe performance on commercial farms and uses this information to:
- increase lamb output
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- improve animal welfare
- improve product quality
Lambs lost or compromised by poor mothering are a major cost for commercial farmers. 20-25% of lambs can be lost between scanning and weaning, with similar numbers of live lambs compromised in some way during mothering. The Smart Shepherd team has designed a new path to address improvements in lamb survival and improve mothering ability on a commercial scale.
Benefits for farmers
Ancillary and maternal pedigree information provided to the programme team is run through the Smart Shepherd index to generate an economic production index for each ewe, providing:
- Value of lambs weaned for each ewe (each lamb is valued individually)
- Ewe condition and the ability to regain condition on low-cost feed
- Fine wool value
- Individual ewe and lamb data on greenhouse gas intensity
Initial index calculations on ewes with lambs at foot show differences of up to $290 index dollars between two tooth ewes in the same flock and a difference of $348 index dollars between full mouth ewes in the same flock. Without Smart Shepherd data, such high and low value ewes are indistinguishable in a flock.
