Data Management Delivering Results for Low-input Organic Flock

With a shared ownership of Sezincote Farms, near to Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, together with his own smaller flock of Texels, Cotswold’s shepherd Sam McPherson uses iLivestock to improve the efficiency of his 1,000 strong organic ewe flock.

The flock, mainly of pedigree Lleyns and a smaller amount of Lleyn cross Texels, ranges over some 2,000 acres. Alongside the main flock, some 150 ewe hoggs, lamb from a New Zealand composite meat sire, the Innovis Primera tup.

Efficient and effective: better data means better decisions

Sam came across the iLivestock data management software in 2020, giving him a year’s free use of the phone-based app, as part of an Alligator equipment package. Today, Sam also uses the eWeigh system through the iLivestock monthly paid subscription service, and feels it’s invaluable to his operation.

“Recording and managing data electronically is far easier than doing it with paperwork…”

Operating an outdoor lambing system throughout April, Sam closely monitors lamb weights during finishing. Sam says, “We finish all the lambs on grass leys – including a mix of red clover and chicory – and a roots mix of vetch, oats, fodder rape, radish, and turnips.

“The cross-bred lambs are generally all gone by October, and the pure lambs are finished in time for the next lambing.”

With an average deadweight of around 22kg, all Sam’s lambs are finished on the farm, and, more recently, integrating the Texel breed to the Sezincote’s flock has meant the lambs finish quicker.

Helping to pick up problems early on

Regular weighing is accompanied by a firm culling policy. “We run a hard culling process to try and make it all as easy as possible. Anything that goes lame or has any lambing problems will be culled. We can’t have any stragglers in the system.

“The software captures all the weights and plots daily live weight gain, so we can usually see if something is wrong early,” adds Sam.

“Based on this, I can then do faecal egg counts to see if there is a problem with worms affecting lamb weight gain.”

Using health data to cull smarter

Crucially, it’s this careful weighing, monitoring and recording of data for more accurate and better decision-making that is helping to drive up the productivity of Sam’s operation, with iLivestock’s app delivering plenty of practical functionality. Capturing data on mastitis, lameness and birthing difficulties with a flexible flag system to highlight issues, making culling decisions more focussed, easier and faster.

Around medication too, the phone-based app affords easy access to critical information, helping to avoid errors and save time, as Sam explains, “The app is also really useful when I’m drawing lambs. The eTagReader vibrates if you scan a lamb which has had medication and is currently in its withdrawal period – alerting you that it can’t go for slaughter yet.”

Supporting farm assured inspections

Particularly important to organic flocks is the ability to prove their organic status during farm assurance inspections. This too is made quicker and easier with iLivestock data capture and recall. Plus, as Sam points out,

“Recording and managing data electronically is far easier than doing it with paperwork, and it can’t be lost as everything is stored in the cloud.”

Sam is in no doubt about the benefits of iLivestock to improving his overall flock health, and plans to continue using the system to support breeding and lambing, concluding, “I’d also like to increase the number of Lleyn cross Texels, and reduce the number of pure Lleyns, because the cross-bred lambs finish much quicker.”

Improving genetics and breed choice for greater profits

Adding, “By improving the genetics to get them away quicker, I can look at buying organic store lambs and finishing them for additional income after my own lambs have gone.”

Sam McPherson optimises his 1,000-ewe organic flock with iLivestock, improving weighing, health tracking and culling decisions.

Original article featured in Anglia Farmer Magazine | 'How Data Boosts Organic Sheep Productivity' | March 2025