SIBI, Using a sheep handler can make it easier to run sheep.

We always say we’re not crop farmers that have sheep, we’re sheep farms that have crop. They’re integrated together and one relies on the other, so.
My name is Scott Newby I farm here just east of Broomehill with my brother Wayne on a family property that we've had for over 110 years. We’re running 1500 Marino ewe’s and various terminal crossbreds and composite’s.
We’re shearing about 3000 sheep and cropping about 80% of the farm, about 2000 ha of crop.
For back-lining ewe’s and drenching and what have you we used to just run everything through the race and draft things up manually and run them around and through the race.
Using handlers has changed the way we've done big jobs like weening and doing multiple jobs at once because it cuts down on all the double handling and going back through the race for a second or third time.
We’re using this handler for drenching, were doing vaccinating we’ll be doing our back lining, hopefully we may do some weaning in it.
This handlers the Peak Hill Immobiliser, its pneumatic, electric pneumatic.
So we run the sheep in, there’s a no stop no return segment here.
So the seeing eye trips the unit with pneumatic actuators that clamps the sheep from both sides you adjust the pressure for the clamp to have it comfortable for the sheep and you've got a manual clamp and manual release, to let him go again.
If you're a one man show you can walk back and push sheep up and you know it's gonna grab it. Where as the mechanical one if you're on your own you can't leave your post.
The benefits were looking at getting out of something like this for the business is just to not have to rely on that second labour unit and of course in the end of the day you'd like some efficiency gains and to actually put a couple of dollars back in your pocket.
Peter Rowe
I'm Peter Rowe, I’m an agricultural consultant and I've been working in the field for over 20 years I was asked by the Department of agriculture and food to look at the Newbys potential investment in a sheep handler.
The system that they are looking at cost around $17,000 dollars to buy.
Across 10 years the system will save them around $10,000 dollars which means that the net present value is actually minus $6000 dollars.
The benefit cost ratio is 0.6, meaning they spend a dollar they get $.60 cents back.
The Newbys have 1500 ewes in their flock and at 2500 ewes then the Newbys would breakeven and if they increase the ewe flock up to 4000 then the Newbys would return a $1.50 for each dollar they invest.
So it's clearly dependent on the number of ewe’s that you have in your system.
Scott Newby
Things that are difficult to cost out is the fact that you're not fighting sheep in the race all day and you can stick it out for a bit longer.
We've definably noticed the difference between day to day productivity of staff myself primarily.
Especially if you’re not wrestling with heavy ewes in a race trying to give needles.
We’d be quite happy to increase our sheep numbers going forward its all based on the economics for us.
We just try to use all the tools available to us to get the best productivity out of our sheep flock.
Rhys Jones
The Department of agriculture and food WA, through its Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, made possible by Royalties for Regions is supporting and sharing new technologies in the sheep industry. This is improving labour efficiency in the sector and making it easier all round, to run sheep.

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