ON FARM SHEEP Saving time and money Peter and Rochell Walker have been using electronic identification (eID) in their stud flocks for the past four years, dramatically reducing labour costs and saving $11 for every dollar invested. The Walkers’ operation has doubled in size over the past decade, placing increasing pressure on available labour. In 2015, they invested in eID for their stud sheep and now use the technology to: • determine lineage (using Pedigree MatchMaker) • record weights and muscle‑scanning data (using a Gallagher eID wand and weigh head) without manual collection • analyse the data using dedicated software (Sapien KoolCollect and Peter Walker with a Suffolk lamb. KoolPerform). Lambs were visually identified to “My father Syd really enjoys being They also use eID to record their ewes’ their dams to determine lineage, then involved in the stud but, like most pregnancy status (empty, singles weighed within one month of birth, plus 74‑year‑old former grain farmers, he’s a or twins) and foetal age (early, mid another three times before hitting 60kg, bit hard of hearing. and late‑lambing), which assists and were also muscle scanned. with selection, feed allocation and “By using the eID wand, he’s making a mob‑management decisions. Because lambing coincides with valuable contribution, but doesn’t have seeding, this data collection placed to wrestle sheep to read a tag or worry Making eID pay pressure on the Walkers. about mishearing a tag number. An economic analysis of their initial $11,000 investment in eID (as part of “We were at the point where we either “It’s also given me more time to spend a WA Department of Primary Industry stopped doing it altogether or we had with my family and do other farm jobs.” and Regional Development project) to find a way to do it more efficiently,”As Peter’s business is 80% cropping, showed the Walkers are on track to Peter said. he said the economics don’t yet save $118,000 over 10 years, with every They started by moving lambing to July stack up to expand eID to his dollar invested returning $11 in savings. and August, then engaged a consultant commercial flock: “It’s a different Before using eID, it took to help them choose the right eID story for farmers concentrating on equipment and software system for livestock production.” ■ the Walkers 380 hours per their operation. year to manually collect, The benefits Peter Walker E: jusaksuffolk@bigpond.com enter and analyse stud Peter says eID has provided social as sheep data. With eID, this well as economic benefits. Watch the Walker family’s “Electronic recording means there are video case study. Go to was reduced to just 36 fewer errors and less stress when we’re youtube.com/user/DAFWA hours per year. recording data at the yards,” he said. and search ‘Peter Walker’. SNAPSHOT:Peter and Rochell Walker, Newdegate, WAS Area: Enterprise: Livestock: Pasture: Soil: Rainfall: 6,500ha Commercial 3,500–4,000 Merino Clovers, medics, Gravel, sand, 370mm self‑replacing Merino ewes, 200 Suffolk serradella, vetch clay and flock, Suffolk and ewes, 200 White and biserrula lakebank White Suffolk studs, Suffolk ewes cropping 31