Sheep Farming

Feral cats continue to plague Australia, costing farmers billions and pushing native animals to extinction. Researchers say to solve the problem, we should change tack and target one of their main food sources — rabbits.

Farmsafe Australia wants all agriculture workers to have first aid and trauma response training, saying it can be the difference between life and death in remote areas.

Nicole Daniels has lost dozens of sheep to the attacks which have occurred for three consecutive nights on her property in WA's Kojonup.

There are just 2,000 sheep shearers left keeping a $3.5 billion export industry alive. Rather than sit on idle hands, hardened workers are trying to entice the next generation into the shed.

Australia famously rode the sheep's back to prosperity but there only 2,000 shearers left in the country. Shearing is now being taught in schools.

Traditional owner and fourth-generation grazier Joshua Henry was raised to see dingoes as a threat to cattle. Now his views have changed and he's adding his voice to calls to ban the killing of dingoes.

This fibreglass cow has done the rounds of WA over the past three years, but now Clarabelle is lending a hoof to farmers in a campaign against a ban on live sheep exports.

In an interview with Stateline WA, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt insists the federal government's $107 million transition package is "significant", but says discussions will continue with the state government to determine what is needed. 

Rob Egerton-Warburton, who has farmed for nearly 30 years running 20,000 merino sheep in the industry's WA heartland, says now that the live export ban is legislated the industry should look to fresh opportunities to survive.

Laws to phase out Australia's live sheep export trade by 2028 pass parliament, despite last-ditch attempts by opponents to put the brakes on the legislation.

Prices for kelpies have soared to record highs in recent times and for Peter Austin, of Blackbutt in Queensland, it is the perfect time to call it a day after breeding dogs for Japan, the US, Canada, and Mexico, in addition to Australia.

The South Australian RSPCA receives an influx of livestock welfare reports, with some animals starving to death.

A federal inquiry into the government's plan to ban the live export of sheep from Western Australia backs the bill in its initial report handed down on Friday and calls for more funding for the industry. 

Populations in WA’s Wheatbelt have long been in decline because of a shrinking agricultural workforce. Local communities fear the impending live sheep export ban may be the final blow.

Sheep farmers are fighting to keep the live export industry going, as a parliamentary inquiry delves into the looming ban on the trade.

Ian Rowett's sheep stud at Marrabel is the second farm in South Australia to have recorded a sextuplet lamb birth this year, an event vets say is "incredibly rare".

WA farmers impacted by the proposed ban have had their say in Northam today, after a Canberra hearing heard from animal activists and industry leaders earlier this week.

South Australian farmers are banking on late winter rain to save their season but optimism is flagging as dry conditions continue.

Forget the Paris Olympics, two young people from the Australian sheep industry have claimed prizes at the World Young Shepherds competition held in France.

Lloyd Castle's farm usually gets slightly more rain than a desert, but whatever falls he records and shares the data with the BOM.