Sheep delivery system proves its worth
A new ProWay shearing shed that incorporates the lane delivery system developed by AWI was recently built at a property in the Central West of NSW and has proved to be a hit with the wool harvesting staff and the wool producers.
During the past couple of years, AWI has developed a lane delivery system that delivers sheep directly to the shearer, eliminating the time and energy that shearers spend on the catch and drag. It also minimises the chance of injury to the shearer from the dragging and twisting movements.
Several companies are now manufacturing a sheep delivery system based on the AWI designs, including NSW-based ProWay.
In October, the construction of a new ProWay shearing shed and sheep yards was completed at ‘Malongulli’, a property located between Mandurama and Canowindra in the Central West region of NSW. The enterprise is co-managed by Jim and his brother Harry and is run in conjunction with their farm in Coonamble. They run self-replacing Merino flocks at both properties.
“In our operation, the sheep are the core of the business, and we’re heavily focusing on infrastructure of both properties. Priorities to date have been water and wire to better utilise our country, as well as keeping things easy to manage,” Jim said.
General Manager, Jim: “If you plan to upgrade your shearing infrastructure, I think a lane system is definitely worth considering as an option. It’s working well here, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t work anywhere else.”
Attracting and retaining contractors
Investing in a new shearing shed and yards at ‘Malongulli’ had also become a priority for the family run business.
“The past few years have had their challenges, particularly the wet years managing sheep and getting contractors and shearers on board,” Jim explained.
“For us, having good facilities and getting the sheep right leads onto contractors being available, whether that’s shearers or livestock contractors working in the yards. It goes a long way towards encouraging them to come back and help us out.”
“If we look after our contractors, they’ll look after us.”
The new six-stand shearing shed, which utilises the lane delivery principles developed by AWI, was ready for their first shearing in mid-November.
“We are up for anything that makes sense when it comes to efficiency, so we were open minded to the idea of a lane delivery system and it’s proving to be paying off and the shearers are happy,” Jim said.
“They have been able to shear seven to eight more sheep per run, so there’s obviously an efficiency gain. They’re also keen to see that it’s working well, and we’ve really only had positive feedback.
“From a budget perspective, we haven’t had to spend a lot more to build a lane system like this, so it’s not costing us more to take the load off the shearer. On top of that they’re able to shear more sheep and feel better at the end of the day.”
The new ProWay-designed shed at ‘Malongulli’ in the Central West of NSW.
Consultative design process
Jim says he and his brother had been in discussion with ProWay about building a new shed and yards around the time that AWI started promoting its new lane delivery system.
“While we’d originally planned to build a conventional shed, ProWay put the idea forward to us to incorporate a lane delivery system into the design and it made total sense to us,” Jim said.
“As soon as the design process was in motion, we were back and forth with designs and found the communication with ProWay was really good throughout the project. It was never an issue to change something.
“Throughout the construction of the project, ProWay were always checking in with us, the shed builder and their install contractors to help co-ordinate things.”
The shearer simply opens a gate at the back of the board and collects the sheep directly from the race. This dramatically reduces the stress and labour required to catch and drag sheep for shearing.
The shearer simply opens a gate at the back of the board and collects the sheep directly from the race. This dramatically reduces the stress and labour required to catch and drag sheep for shearing.
The shearer simply opens a gate at the back of the board and collects the sheep directly from the race. This dramatically reduces the stress and labour required to catch and drag sheep for shearing.
Other facilities in the build
With professional and safe working conditions in shearing sheds and yards proven to help woolgrowers attract and retain staff as well as improve productivity and profitability, the brothers were keen on optimising the design of the rest of the shed and yards.
“It’s not just the lane catch that we’ve focused on to make this facility good to work in. Putting in amenities like the toilets and kitchen, even little things like USB ports at the stands, the shearers have really appreciated it,” Jim said.
“The yards that we’ve built are based on proven designs ProWay had built before, so it made sense to go that way as there’s a lot of versatility. Whether you’re going into the Bulk Handler, or an autodrafter with a five-way draft, it’s a very flexible design.
“There’s also a cover over the yard so people turn up and are excited to do a day or weeks’ worth of sheep work here.
“We’re very happy with the whole project. I wish that all projects were as seamless as this.”
Together Jim, Harry, ProWay and AWI held a field day last month at ‘Malongulli’ during which the recently installed six-stand lane delivery shearing shed and sheep yards were showcased with a shearing demonstration.
More information: www.proway.com.au
This article appeared in the December 2023 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.
