HUCK Shepherd has won one of the nation's richest invention competitions by solving a simple issue for sheep producers - how to increase lamb survival.
The South Australian farmer from Kybybolite, was awarded the $4000 major prize donated by Novartis at last week's Sheepvention at Hamilton, for his Shepherd's Lamb Saver.
The judges chose the Lamb Saver - a mesh pen that promotes bonding between ewes and their newborn lambs - from a field of 18 entries because it solves a common problem and is a simple, robust, lightweight design.
"It highlights what the competition is all about - that a simple idea can become a commercially marketed product," they said.
The invention is especially useful for ewes which are assisted during lambing, or maiden ewes. Many farmers move their ewes and lambs to yards but Huck says the Weldmesh and steel pen keeps the ewe and her lamb in a confined area in the paddock for a day or two, enabling bonding in a familiar environment.
The 17-kilogram pen folds into a flat pack so it can be easily transported on a quad bike - or even a horse. In the 30 years since he made his prototype, Huck estimates he has saved more than 1000 lambs.
He now has 20 units he uses around his property for stud and commercial ewes.
"We could have saved more (lambs) if we had more of the pens," he said. "We have been using them for 30 years and they have stood the test of time - we have still got the first one."
Over the years, he has refined the design to also minimise fox predation by making the mesh holes smaller, and adding a solid panel near the bottom as a windbreak.
"We only have to save one lamb and the Lamb Saver pays for itself a few times over, especially with the stud lambs," Huck said.
Meanwhile, innovation appears to run in the Shepherd family, with Huck's grandfather inventing the modern super spreader in the 1930s.
Huck says he is shocked by the win but feels it will be the catalyst he needs to increase the numbers he will manufacture. The Lamb Savers, 1250 millimetres by 1250mm by 900mm, are made in Melbourne, and retail for about $90+GST each.
"If we could save an extra 1 per cent of lambs that is $40 million of value to the farmer and to the industry as well."
