Esperance-based grower group the Association for Sheep Husbandry, Excellence, Evaluation & Production Inc (ASHEEP) has announced a change of name and will in future be known as ASHEEP & BEEF.
“After much form-filling, we're pleased to announce that our new name is official. Moving forward our grower group will be known as ASHEEP & BEEF, better reflecting our work with both sheep and beef cattle production systems”, said Sarah Brown, ASHEEP & BEEF Executive Officer.
“The grower group was originally set up by sheep producers in 2003, and in 2016 expanded to take on a Cattle Sub-Committee given the many crossovers between sheep and cattle farming systems. Since that time, we have run an annual cattle field day, as well as facilitated research, demonstrations, and shared information to drive best practice beef cattle production.”
ASHEEP & BEEF Chair, David Vandenberghe, sees the name change as an important step forward; “Our grower group has been working with both sheep and cattle for some years. Renaming to ASHEEP & BEEF makes this focus much clearer. The new name retains the recognition established over the years for ‘ASHEEP’ and builds on it to reference our work with beef cattle. It also reflects that many of our members are both sheep and cattle farmers and use the information we share for both enterprises”, said David.
ASHEEP & BEEF’s Cattle Sub-Committee is Chaired by Ryan Willing. “As a beef producer and Chair of the Cattle Sub-Committee, I’m excited about the name change, which better reflects the work the organisation does. The Cattle Sub-Committee has been working hard to improve productivity in the beef sector locally and nationally over the last seven years and will continue to do so with various current and future projects. With the livestock price slump at the moment, it is more important than ever to be improving on-farm practices to remain profitable. ASHEEP & BEEF will keep working hard to help both beef and sheep producers stay that way”, said Ryan.
ASHEEP & BEEF is currently running three Meat & Livestock Australia Producer Demonstration Site projects centred on cattle. These cover optimising age of weaning, preventing bull preputial breakdown, and managing Bovine Pestivirus.
ASHEEP & BEEF membership is open to both sheep and cattle producers from the Esperance region and further afield in WA.
More information can be found at www.asheepbeef.org.au.