Moving sheep between paddocks and making marketing decisions can now be performed without the need to muster animals and put them through undue stress.

Easier on animals, easier on farmers, new electronic sheep management technologies will mean that as an animal goes about its daily business, important production information can be gathered in the paddock.

Each sheep is equipped with an ear tag which contains a transponder so the grazier can keep track of each flock member.

The transponder allows the sheep to make decisions, without being hassled by people or dogs.

Electronically operated gates and weighing platforms are usually placed where the sheep go to drink, so they must pass through the gates and over a weighing platform.

“This allows the sheep to go about its daily activities with minimum interference,” says NSW Department of Primary Industries project officer Bill Murray.

“The transponder activates the gate and the sheep is weighed and recorded as it passes through.”

Mr Murray is part of a team working with flocks and graziers in the western division to bring to commercialisation a unique Australian grazing system, backed by the department and the Australian Sheep Industry CRC.

“The drafting criteria are quite flexible,” he says.

“A grazier sets the system to the desired parameters to select, for example, all the pregnant ewes, or all the wethers that are over a certain weight and ready for market.

“The system reads each animal’s information then signals the gates, which direct it into the correct yards or paddocks.”

The capacity to separate groups enables the grazier to set up custom feeding within a flock, to ensure lighter sheep get better fed.

“The benefits from an e-sheep system come from improved animal welfare and reduced labour in handling sheep which should combine to produce a better bottom line,” he said.

Mr Murray says a grazing property can be set up for esheep management for about $15,000.

A prototype system is currently operating at Bourke on Tony Thompson’s property, “Prattenville”, and Mr Murray says the technology makes it possible for him to run his sheep enterprise without considerable extra labour inputs.

Contact Bill Murray, Trangie, 6880 8050 or bill.murray@dpi.nsw.gov.au

This story appears Agriculture Today.