Explore every episode of the podcast The Sheep Geeks
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 19: Tom Bird talking about his high input, high output system and being FW Sheep Farmer of the Year | 22 Apr 2026 | 00:58:45 | |
Tom Bird farms with his dad in south Derbyshire. They run sheep and also have combinable crops. He is the current Farmers Weekly Sheep Farmer of the Year and also involved in the OptiEwe programme with Liz and Nerys. He talks through his system of indoor lambing mule ewes and the use of creep to get the lambs away as soon as possible to balance labour requirements on the mixed farm. Links mentioned: To enter or nominate people for the award, go to https://www.fwi.co.uk/sp/events/farmers-weekly-awards Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 18: PROFESSOR Jennifer Duncan talking about joint ill and its prevention and treatment | 09 Mar 2026 | 00:53:54 | |
Jennifer Duncan is a Professor of Sheep Health and Welfare at University of Liverpool. She has been involved with a recent project exploring joint ill in young lambs in more details, and this podcast covers the main findings of that project. We also touch on her interests on Schmallenberg virus and contagious ovine digital dermatitis. She teaches vet students animal welfare and sheep veterinary medicine. Her research focuses on sheep lameness, neonatal lamb diseases and sheep welfare. She co-ordinates post-graduate veterinary modules in sheep medicine as part of the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice courses at Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/vets/cpd/certavp/production-animal/sheep/ Links mentioned: Paper link - https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3189525/ AHDB link - https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/joint-ill-in-lambs Liverpool's work on CODD - https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/infection-veterinary-and-ecological-sciences/research/groups/codd/ Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 9: Talking to Kevin Harrison about getting ready for change, saxophones and sheep | 13 Jul 2025 | 01:03:37 | |
Kevin Harrison is a farm manager on a sheep and arable farm near Bath. He spends time representing the UK sheep industry through the positions of Policy and Technical Chairman for the National Sheep Association (NSA), and Chairman of SCOPS - Sustainable Control of Parasite in Sheep. He is also a member of the Register of Sheep Advisers, and has been seen helping Jeremy on Clarkson's Farm! He is not a bad sax player either, and plays with the Harlem Rhythm Cats. We talk about how he has been changing the flock from an intensive mule based system to a outdoor lambing system with Exlanas. Links mentioned: -https://www.scops.org.uk/ - https://www.facebook.com/harlemrhythmcats/?locale=en_GB - https://www.eastofengland.org.uk/scholars/ Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 8: Talking to Awal Fuselini about halal, education and meat consumption | 19 Jun 2025 | 00:50:27 | |
Dr Awal Fuselini is AHDB's Halal sector senior manager and also a 2025 Nuffield Scholar. He shares his knowledge about the Halal market in the UK and in other countries. We discuss stun and non-stun options for Halal slaughterings, and also the importance of people understanding more about the production systems. Maybe not one to listen to if you, or someone who is listening with you, is of a sensitive disposition. Plus the first time we use our new standard question - "what is your first memory of sheep?" Links mentioned: - Awal’s podcast link from apple https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-halal-food-podcast/id1611924158 - Opportunities in halal | AHDB - Carbon Calling | Regenerative farming conference Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 7: Talking to David and Cora Cooper about sheep and nature recovery | 25 May 2025 | 01:12:19 | |
David and Cora Cooper are sheep farmers from Ayrshire. They have made significant changes to their system over the last few years to reduce costs and inputs. They are using mob grazing to drive nature recovery on their farm. In this podcast we talk about the changes they had made, the focus on low input sheep and their passion for regenerating their land. Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. | |||
| Episode 6: Talking to Dave Cross about his farming system in Norfolk and a bit about chickens | 20 Apr 2025 | 00:53:32 | |
Dave Cross is a mixed farmer in Norfolk with sheep, beef, arable and layers. He farms within a family partnership. He has been very strategic with the use of sustainable farming incentive (SFI) to transform their arable fields into lanes of herbal leys. He has been an AHDB monitor farm for the last four years. In this podcast we talk about the changes he has made to his farming systems in the last few years and his plans for the future. Nerys asks a question about beef, which is very rare. Links Select tickets – Carbon Calling 2025 – Sleastonhow, Kirkby Thore, Penrith SCOPS | Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. | |||
| Episode 5: Talking to Dr Suzanne Rowe about breeding for reduced methane production | 19 Mar 2025 | 00:51:20 | |
Dr Suzanne Rowe is a geneticist at AgResearch in New Zealand, and is passionate about improving profitability and sustainability of global livestock systems using genomic technology. She presented at Sheep Breeders Round Table in November 2024 on breeding for methane reduction in sheep. In this podcast she talks about the work that is being done on collecting phenotypes for methane production in the New Zealand, plus work being done in Ireland and the UK. Links Presentation from SBRT - PowerPoint Presentation Elanco link Are you a farmer wanting to become a star in the sheep world Bluetongue Virus - Ruminant Health & Welfare Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. | |||
| Episode 4: Talking to Dr Fiona Lovatt about protecting young lambs from watery mouth | 19 Feb 2025 | 00:51:47 | |
Dr Fiona Lovatt is a vet and consultant, and founder of Flock Health Limited. She has been heavily involved in reducing antibiotic use in the sheep sector. She is passionate about improving the relationship between farmers and their vets. In this podcast she talks about a project she did with NoBacz Navel - a non-antibiotic barrier. It was compared against iodine for treating navels in young lambs. They also compared dipping versus spraying, and looked at mortality and growth rates. Links Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. | |||
| Episode 3: Talking to Michael Blanche about lean management, sheep and lots of random things | 20 Jan 2025 | 01:19:18 | |
Michael Blanche is a sheep and cattle farmer from Perth in Scotland. He is also the genius behind the Pasture Pod podcast. | |||
| Episode 2: Talking to Katie Evans about sheep and other things from her trip to Oz | 26 Nov 2024 | 00:40:39 | |
Katie Evans is a sheep and beef farmer from Norfolk. She was sponsored to attended the Global Sheep Forum's Next Gen programme and has recently returned from a trip to Australia. https://www.globalsheepforum.com/2024nextgencohort | |||
| The Sheep Geeks: Episode 1 - Launch | 31 Oct 2024 | 00:14:53 | |
Welcome to the launch of the Sheep Geeks podcast with Nerys Wright and Liz Genever. There are both independent sheep consultants, and work with sheep farmers in the UK. Nerys likes talking about parasites and body condition score, and Liz likes talking about grass and forage, and soil. | |||
| Episode 17: Anna and Ian Wilson talking about using technology to improve sheep performance | 16 Feb 2026 | 01:06:49 | |
Anna and Ian Wilson are mixed farmers (sheep and combinable crops) from North Yorkshire, and Anna also works for the National Sheep Association. They talk about their experience of using No Bacz Navel as part of the trial we spoke to Fiona Lovatt about on episode 4. They also use it when tagging newborn lambs. We also catch up on the work as part of the AHDB-funded Challenge Sheep project and how they are using data to help them make better decisions. This episode has been sponsored by No Bacz. Links mentioned: Paper link - https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/BCHIBBZG8IRWQU3RHERB?target=10.1002/vetr.70169 Product page link - https://nobacz.com/product/nobacz-navel/ More details on Challenge Sheep project - https://ahdb.org.uk/challenge-sheep Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 16: Kate Phillips and the impact she has had on the sheep industry | 16 Jan 2026 | 01:00:30 | |
Kate Phillips is an independent sheep consultant. She previously worked at ADAS for 30 years. She continues to be heavily involved in research within the sheep sector. She is renowned for her pragmatic approach. We talk through various projects (see links below) and also the role that Kate played in developing both Liz and Nerys' knowledge and skills. Links mentioned: Sheep Breeding UK | Low Carbon Lamb | Low Methane Sheep https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/understanding-mastitis-in-sheep https://ahdb.org.uk/mastitis-in-ewes-phase-ii Biotin and lameness in ewes | AHDB Event mentioned Grazing for growth: sheep and arable working together | AHDB
Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 15: Christmas special with the East of England Agricultural Society | 27 Dec 2025 | 00:31:34 | |
This special episode features an experimental recording at the East of England Agricultural Society's Scholars Day. Both Liz and Nerys are scholars and were invited to join the training day. The recording features other scholars, and was done on a roaming mic in the bar, so forgive the slightly interesting audio. See here for more information on the Scholars Programme. The next application deadline is the 22nd of February 2026 and is available to people living in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, plus parts of Lincolnshire, Rutland and Leicestershire. Nerys and Liz are extremely grateful to the EEAS for their support. Nerys' recent visit to the International Sheep Veterinary Congress was supported by them, and their contributed towards Liz's attendance on the CREATE Althorp course. | |||
| Episode 14: Q&A at Christmas | 20 Dec 2025 | 00:58:43 | |
Join Liz and Nerys for a catch-up before Christmas and our first Q&A. We almost talk about books more than sheep in this one. The guest format will be back in January. Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 13: Talking to Richard Stanbury about his farming business and the importance of finding your support network | 18 Nov 2025 | 01:18:34 | |
Richard Stanbury is a fourth generation beef and sheep farmer from near the edge of Exmoor in Devon. He has changed his system towards a high grass and forge system, with a focus on reducing inputs and maxmising profit. He has moved towards Easycare ewes. He is working with Nerys of the ParaSight project, so they talk about his plans to make sure he is using his data effective and the technology is helping him make decisions rather than taking up time and patience Links mentioned: Link to the ParaSight https://farmanimal.elanco.com/en_gb/resource-hub/the-parasight Weston Farm Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/16dvhk4jiY/?mibextid=wwXIfr Take control of your farm’s future with Roots to Resilience | AHDB Innovative Advice for Regenerative and Profitable Farming | Precision Grazing Ltd
Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 12: Talking to Matt Harding about producing rams off forage and the importance of being nosy | 19 Oct 2025 | 00:54:03 | |
Matt Harding is a third generation ram breeder based in Warwickshire. He has changed from a higher input ram breeding approach to selling shearlings who have been raised on grass and forage. He breeds Suffolk rams, and also breeds rams for Innovis. Links mentioned: Link to Bentley Suffolks Link to Innovis Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 11: Talking to Mark "Ferg" Ferguson about Optiewe and working with farmers | 13 Sep 2025 | 00:56:08 | |
Mark "Ferg" Ferguson is a consultant who works with sheep farmers and breeders in New Zealand and Australia. He is CEO of neXtgen Agri who runs consultants in most places with sheep in New Zealand and Australia. He was involved in the science behind Lifetime Wool, which was very influential in the development of Challenge Sheep - AHDB-funded project that Nerys and Liz worked on. We talk about how their Optiewe programme is being brought to the UK, with Nerys and Liz currently collecting expressions of interest. The programme will launch on the 16th of October. Links mentioned: Link to Optiewe UK expression of interest Link to neXtgen Agri Link to Head Shepherd podcast Link to Lifetime Wool Link to Challenge Sheep Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||
| Episode 10: Talking to Ben Strugnell about healthy and not so healthy sheep, plus the need for applied research | 14 Aug 2025 | 01:24:08 | |
Ben Strugnell is a vet with an obsession of learning as much as possible from dead animals. He runs Farm Post Mortems up in County Durham and also presents at various events around the country. This is a legacy from an EBLEX/AHDB funded project work with him over ten years ago. We talk about his findings and how he works with farmers to try and prevent further losses. He shares his frustration about the limited amount of applied research that is being funded in the UK at the moment. Links mentioned: Link to iceberg diseases manual - Iceberg diseases of ewes | AHDB Link to the fallen stock project from 2013 - Fallen stock: phase II | AHDB Link to SCOPS podcasts - Podcasts | SCOPS Song alamycin link - I’ll definitely be singing this... - Beltex Sheep Society | Facebook Farm post mortems - Farm Post Mortems Ltd. Dr Liz Genever is a farmer, consultant and co-founder of Carbon Calling CIC. Dr Nerys Wright is a sheep consultant and technical lead for SCOPS. Podcast Disclaimer: | |||