Using data to drive management decisions and improve productivity - click to view newsletter

After two successful sheep benchmarking meetings recently and with the start of the tupping season fast approaching, now seems like the right time to highlight how important record keeping and data collection can be.

It is easy to let the number of disease cases and losses go by unnoticed without proper data recording. It is also difficult to highlight problem areas which may be significantly impacting on profitability and those areas which may require veterinary intervention.

Collecting data allows us to form a baseline to monitor progress made within the flock year on year as well as benchmark farms against each other. Benchmarking is a great way of comparing your performance with other farms who operate in a similar way to your own and allows you to set targets which are achievable.

Pre tupping
This is a key time to assess each individual ewe to ensure she is fit for the next breeding season. As well as carrying out a checklist for physical traits it is just as important to look back on data about individual ewes to see if they've had previous issues over that year. It is worth culling out ewes if they have had issues. Good record keeping stops these ewes from becoming repeat offenders.  

Read more in the full newsletter