Sammy McIntyre

Samantha (Sammy) McIntyre

Enriched environments could enhance lamb production says Nuffield Scholar

As more sheep enter feedlots across Australia, producer Sammy McIntyre will study how enriching these environments to encourage natural behaviours can benefit the industry. Sammy has been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship, supported by Rabobank, to study this topic.

Sammy is the Chief Financial Officer of the family’s farming business, which includes “Hillstream” on the Fleurieu Peninsula and cropping and feedlot/lamb finishing enterprises on the Yorke Peninsula.

“The last 12 months has seen a change to a self-replacing composite model and the use of individual animal management technology."

Through the Nuffield Scholarship, Sammy will study the benefits of enriched environments for intensive sheep production and practical steps for producer implementation.

“While these tools optimise production, ensure animal welfare and enhance land management, the trade-off has been that animals are kept in relatively dull environments that can impinge on their freedom to express normal behaviours. Increasingly consumers are seeking out higher welfare products, with increasing scrutiny on livestock industries – particularly intensive systems – challenging the status quo.”

Sammy says small studies that have been completed show lambs in enriched pens (simply including ramps, platforms or straw bales for lambs play) had significantly higher welfare outcomes, better eating quality and average daily weight gain than those in barren pens.

“I also see potential benefits in other intensive livestock systems, particularly beef, dairy and goat production,” she says.

To explore this topic, Sammy will travel to different parts of Australia plus countries in southern Africa, Brazil, southern United States and Mexico which have similar production systems to Australia. She is also keen to visit regions with a long history of housing ruminant animals including Europe and Canada.