FEEDLOTS are usually one of the later links in a supply chain, but for final-year animal science students, Murdoch University's sheep feedlot could be a first link to a career.
Since 2015 Murdoch's on-campus sheep feedlot, with assistance from Milne Feeds which provides pellet feeds for growth performance assessment, has given students an ability to put theoretical knowledge into practice before they go out into the agricultural industry.
The university's Centre for Animal Production and Health is planning to operate the feedlot for eight to 10 weeks again next year during the first semester, using up to 120 wether weaners sourced from the Merino Lifetime Productivity (MLP) project.
A collaboration between Australian Wool Innovation and the Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association with five evaluation sites around Australia, the 10-year MLP project is managed in WA by Murdoch University staff and conducted at Ridgefield, The University of WA research farm near Pingelly.
The wethers are trucked to the university and turned out in equal numbers into four paddocks of the feedlot on the university campus.
Third-year students - predominantly young women in recent years and many from a non-farming urban background who have little or no experience handling production animals - are then totally responsible for their welfare, monitoring and measurement recording while the sheep are at the university.
Managing the feedlot is a unit assignment of their animal production systems III studies.
Associate professor of animal science Andrew Thompson explained the aim was to give students "experience in the principles and practices of feedlotting lambs, including feed formulation, introducing lambs to feedlot diets and environment and the importance of lamb health, feed efficiency and genetics".
"They get experience in handling sheep for routine husbandry practices such as mustering and yarding, weighing, tag reading and recording, drenching and vaccinating, plus faecal collection for worm egg counts, assessment of sheep structure and wool quality and assessment and treatment of animal health issues," Dr Thompson said.
"The feedlot also gives them experience in data recording, statistical analysis and reporting of scientific experiments."
Dr Thompson said it was only possible to run the feedlot with the assistance of Milne Feeds which provides EasyOne pellets and another variety of its commercial lamb and sheep pellets each year so students can assess and compare weight gain performance of the wether weaners.
This year Milne Feeds provided EasyOne and LambGro pellets.
Sheep in one paddock were fed a ration of LambGro pellets and sheep in another paddock were fed a ration of EasyOne pellets daily, with weight gain in the two mobs measured weekly.
The amount of uneaten pellets was assessed each day by students and rations adjusted accordingly within set parameters to ensure the sheep had access to as much feed as they wanted.
At the end of the week, the amount of residual feed was calculated so students could determine how much feed the two mobs had eaten and work out average daily weight gain for each mob.
During daily visits to the feedlot to provide feed and water, students also had to assess and record the wethers' general health and wellbeing and look for signs of scouring, hunching, limping, lack of appetite or other unusual behaviours.
The feeding, measuring and assessing regime was replicated with wethers in the other two paddock.
Sheep came into the feedlot weighing about 28-30 kilograms and left for the abattoir weighing about 55-60kg.
"The students then had to write a 2000-word mini-scientific paper based on the analysed data on feed intake, growth rate and feed conversion efficiency," Dr Thompson said.
That report comprises 25 per cent of their mark for animal production systems III.
Milne Feeds' ruminant feed sales co-ordinator Sydney Fowler is an example of how the feedlot experience can lead to a career.
Ms Fowler and Milne Feeds' nutritionist Dr Josh Sweeny visited the university last week.
"I did this particular feedlot in third year in 2015 - it was the first year we (students) did it so it was a great experience for all of us," Ms Fowler said.
"I came from a country background, but a lot of the people that did it in my year were from the city and it really helped them being able to actually handle the sheep.
"I graduated with honours in 2016 and I was very lucky, I started with Milne Feeds in 2017, so the program worked for me," she said.
Dr Sweeny is also a Murdoch graduate, the only male in its inaugural 2008 cohort of five animal science graduates.
"We see some of the student reports (from the feedlot unit) and I have to say they are very professional, they are quality scientific papers," Dr Sweeny said.
"My role (with Milne) is to make sure the feed rations meet farmers' requirements and animal requirements and that we're keeping up to date with the latest technology.
"As part of that, we try to provide a couple of varieties of feed for students to evaluate how they perform."
One of the students who ran the feedlot this year, Katy Reid, 20, from Baldivis, said she found the exercise "interesting".
"The genetics part of it - how different sires can affect weight gain and things like that, was what I found most interesting," Ms Reid said.
While not from a rural background, Ms Reid said she helped out on a family friend's sheep property with lamb marking and rousabouting at shearing.
"Being around sheep helped with the feedlot I think," she said.
