Don't stress the sheep!

Q.1 What's the fastest way to move a mob of sheep? A.1. Slowly. Q.2. What's the worst thing you can do to a sheep? A.2. Confuse them.
These truisms are told as jokes around the backblocks and in country pubs. The worst thing you can do to your return on investment in stock is to stress them. Bruce Maynard, the creative mind behind the Central West Catchment Management Authority's innovative Farm Systems training system, is also "The Lazy Farmer" who believes there are simple ways to reduce the workload of people on the land.
Bruce offers a course called "Stree Free Stockman-ship". Stress is bad for animals because it burns up energy and causes them to lose conditon. "Livestock stress costs a lot in terms of lost time and production," says Bruce. Animals can be stressed by the way you choose to handle them. They can also be stressed by the layout of your yards and by how you position gates, shutes, etc. Bruce teaches you to look at the world through the animal's eyes. In this way you discover there are situations that simply do not compute for animals, zones they should never be forced to enter, and amazing ways of moving sdeep without need of large numbers of people and even dogs. He can advise you on stockyard design and getting exsting yards to work more efficiently. David Marsh, a friend of mine from Booroowa, says his observation skills have improved as a result of the course. "I have been able to put mobs of stock past 'impossible' obstacles and into places (without dogs) that I would not have tried before doing the course." George Taylor, whose Mumblebone Merino Stud is not far from us, near Wellington, says, "I can even take mobs of weaned lambs away without dogs." (Ie. seperate babies from their mothers and walk them away without a gang of yapping yard dogs snapping at their heels.)
Apart from offering the course to classes of 20 people at a time, Bruce also makes it available to charities to offer as a fundraiser. You can contact Bruce on 0429 014 118.

Top picture shows Daniel negotiating with his dogs, hoping they will go the right way next time. The dogs know which way is right, but they enjoy harassing their master.