0:00:02 > 0:00:03Go on! Yeah, yeah, yeah! Go on!
0:00:05 > 0:00:06Like that?
0:00:06 > 0:00:07WHOOPING AND LAUGHING
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Look at me, I'm covered!
0:00:13 > 0:00:15'In the most remote places on Earth,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18'people depend on their animals for survival.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24'A few years ago, I moved to a farm in the Welsh hills
0:00:24 > 0:00:28'I've become fascinated by the bond between shepherd and flock.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35'In Afghanistan and Peru, I explored this relationship's ancient origins.'
0:00:35 > 0:00:38I could have been standing here 500 years ago and witnessed
0:00:38 > 0:00:40exactly that same scene.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43'Now I want to look at the future of herding.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:47There's some here Bob, just on the right.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51'In Australia, animals are raised on an epic scale.'
0:00:52 > 0:00:54They seem quite keen to get off the truck.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58'Sheep are a global commodity.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02'And scientists are fast becoming the new shepherds.'
0:01:02 > 0:01:06In my mind animal husbandry should be something that's done
0:01:06 > 0:01:07as naturally as possible,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10with really as little intervention as possible.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16'Can the close connection between herder and herded
0:01:16 > 0:01:18'survive in the modern world?'
0:01:30 > 0:01:34I'm about 700 or 800 kilometres north of Perth,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36heading out into the bush.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41It is a harsh landscape.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43It's quite alien.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49It's so dry, it's rocky, it's dusty, it's hot.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53There are snakes everywhere, there are spiders that can put
0:01:53 > 0:01:57you in hospital, or in the morgue, and it just doesn't look like
0:01:57 > 0:02:02a land that could support human life, sheep, anything really.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05But somehow it does.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Despite this barren landscape,
0:02:07 > 0:02:12Australia has become one of the biggest sheep producers in the world
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I want to understand how, against the odds,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19shepherds can thrive in a land so different to my farm back home.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25I'm on my way to Meka, one of the largest sheep stations in Australia.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31It covers nearly a million acres, that's about the size of Kent,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and is more than 200 miles from the nearest big town.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41This promises to be shepherding on a scale beyond anything I've seen,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43but something seems to be missing.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47What's extraordinary is we have been on the farm property,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50we've crossed over 30 kilometres back
0:02:50 > 0:02:52and I haven't seen a single sheep yet.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Men in caps and shorts, it's all looking very promising.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- Good afternoon, nice to see you. - Kerry Wark.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Hi, Kerry, nice to see you.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Thanks for rustling up some sunshine for us,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11it was getting pretty cold in the UK when we left.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15- Plenty of that.- We were hoping is wasn't going to be too severe,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18we've had a couple of 42s this last week.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Yeah, we could probably manage without that.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25The station is run by manager Bob Grinham,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27a West Australian stockman
0:03:27 > 0:03:30who's spent his whole working life in the bush.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33And it's owned by businessman Kerry Wark.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Incredibly, the huge property is run by a team of just five people,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41looking after up to 25,000 sheep.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43It's going to be a fascinating five days or so.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46I think it will be, going to be interesting.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I'm going to be learning a lot, I can feel it.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Stations like Meka are part
0:03:55 > 0:03:57of Australia's long shepherding history.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03The British brought sheep to the country more than 200 years ago.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Wool was the perfect export from such a remote colony.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12It wouldn't perish on the long journey back to the heart of Empire.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Early pioneers began to push inland,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18driving their flocks into the wild outback.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Meka's wool clothed imperial soldiers in two world wars.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26And the peak of the industry came in the 1950s, with the massive
0:04:26 > 0:04:31demand for wool from America at outbreak of the Korean War.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Everybody went to war in a cold country
0:04:37 > 0:04:39and they needed woollen uniforms,
0:04:39 > 0:04:44and the price of wool here went to £1 a pound,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48and that was three to four times what it had ever been before and if you
0:04:48 > 0:04:54were in the wool business in 1951/2 that's when fortunes were made.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57We're talking a property like this could have netted,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02in today's money terms, something like 10 million a year.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Nobody could believe it,
0:05:04 > 0:05:09and the community was all full of imported new cars, Cadillacs,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Rollers were all over the place. It was just...
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Australia had a boost like you'd never believe in '51.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20But after the boom times came the crash.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24In the 1970s and '80s, we started swapping our woolly jumpers
0:05:24 > 0:05:29for polyester fleeces, and the price of wool plummeted.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Many stations had to adapt to survive.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Meka has been forced to switch from wool to meat.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43I've come at a busy time of year.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45There's a few thousand sheep
0:05:45 > 0:05:47to be gathered and processed for export.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57So everything we have driven across
0:05:57 > 0:06:01since we left the homestead is the farm, basically.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04It's all part of this sheep station.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07You can drive for 100Ks to the north or the northeast
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and you're still on the stations, and 30k south.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14It's just unimaginable.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Meka is divided into 40 paddocks,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21vast fenced areas that hold up to 2,000 sheep.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24At the corner of each paddock is a smaller field, called a trap,
0:06:24 > 0:06:28with drinking troughs that Bob uses to corral the sheep.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30This morning we'll shake the traps
0:06:30 > 0:06:32and see what number of sheep come in.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- It may be nothing or not many, or they could all be there.- Right.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Bob only rounds up his sheep about twice a year,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42so this is a rare chance to get a good look at them.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53I was beginning to wonder whether there were any sheep on this station
0:06:53 > 0:06:57I think that's the thing about being in an area that is so huge
0:06:57 > 0:07:01with quite thick, impenetrable bush.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04And here's the proof, there are hundreds of these animals here,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06thousands of these animals here
0:07:06 > 0:07:10but they managed to keep themselves hidden for most of the day.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Where do you want this one. On there?
0:07:18 > 0:07:20- On this one here.- Oh, sorry.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27It's always really eye-opening to come to another person's farm
0:07:27 > 0:07:28and see their set-up,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and it's one of those very difficult things where
0:07:31 > 0:07:34you always feel in the way, because everyone has such a good system,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37and if you don't know that system you're just sort of standing there
0:07:37 > 0:07:40holding a big hurdle and going, "I don't know what to do with this."
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Are these an Australian breed of sheep?
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- No, they're originally from South Africa.- Right.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58They're so different from our little sort of woolly Welsh mountains.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Yeah. That's right, yeah.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04These sheep are Damaras, a desert breed
0:08:04 > 0:08:08that thrives in the arid scrubland of the Australian outback.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13To survive in these dry landscapes, the Damara has developed an unusual feature.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18You can see very quickly that Damara have got these fat tails,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21and look at that, that's just a big fat store.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Very similar fat to what's in a camel's hump.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27It supplements their...
0:08:27 > 0:08:30They sustain their well-being with that fat in their tail.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35With most of their fat stored in one place,
0:08:35 > 0:08:40the Damaras' meat is very lean, unlike our sheep back home
0:08:40 > 0:08:42that store fat all over their body,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45giving us the fatty meat that we love.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57They seem quite keen to get off the truck!
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Compared to my little Welsh mountain sheep, these are like wild animals.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08This helps them to cope with such a harsh environment.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11But it makes them an absolute nightmare to handle.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Go on!
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Go on! Go on!
0:09:22 > 0:09:25I've never known sheep so willing to go backwards.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Come on, girls, it's only a gate.
0:09:38 > 0:09:39Bob divides the flock,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42separating off the male lambs that will be going to market.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47I don't even dare talk to Bob,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50because you've got to concentrate every second.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Once they're sorted, all the animals are treated for parasites and worms,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00a process known as drenching.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03If we didn't do this by the time we muster next year in April,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- half these ewes could be gone. - Really?
0:10:09 > 0:10:10Steady, big boy.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Just give him two shots, that one.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- Two shots? - Yeah, because of his weight.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22'With so many sheep to deal with, Bob has had to innovate.'
0:10:22 > 0:10:28I know a few people back at home who would love one of these hydraulic conveyor belts.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- They're great, aren't they? - It actually takes the hard work out
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- cos these sheep will injure you in a race.- Right.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38If you get hit from behind by a 100 kilo ram,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- it's not very pleasant if it gets you between the shoulder blades.- No.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Although this still feels pretty traditional, shepherding is now
0:10:46 > 0:10:50a billion dollar industry, run by entrepreneurs like Kerry.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53He made his fortune in the oil business,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56but had always dreamed of owning a sheep station.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59After the price of wool collapsed, Meka was struggling,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03so Kerry bought it and took on Bob as his manager.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Together, they've restocked Meka with Damara sheep,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10and now supply the growing meat market in the Middle East.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11It's big business.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16The Middle East has become quite wealthy with oil money,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18they've had expanding numbers of people
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and they don't have the ability, due to lack of pasture
0:11:21 > 0:11:25or range lands, to increase the numbers of sheep,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27fat tails, in that area.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30So we saw the opportunity to take a breed of fat tail
0:11:30 > 0:11:33and to export it to the Middle East.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The fat tails were fetching a premium,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39so if we could produce them in a low-cost operating environment
0:11:39 > 0:11:43then we would have a winning formula, and we did take a risk.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48I'm getting the feeling, even at this very early stage,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50that we're at a kind of crossroads.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55A country that used to make all its money from wool
0:11:55 > 0:11:58is now clearly not able to do that any more
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and I suppose the more mobile-minded farmers,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04instead of thinking that their livelihood is over,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08they are thinking about how they can make this land work
0:12:08 > 0:12:11and what breeds of sheep will allow them to do that,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14keeping this great Australian tradition
0:12:14 > 0:12:16of sheep and sheep stations.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35It's Day Two.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39I want to learn about the challenges Bob and his team face
0:12:39 > 0:12:43raising livestock in one of the toughest environments on Earth.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47In this parched landscape, water is everything.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49At the corner of each paddock is a windmill that pumps water
0:12:49 > 0:12:53from deep underground into stone drinking troughs.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Twice a week, Bob and his team drive the length and breadth
0:12:57 > 0:13:00of the property to check everything is working properly.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Today, I'm helping out.
0:13:04 > 0:13:10There is nothing easy about farming in this land, is there?
0:13:10 > 0:13:13No, not really. Everything is sort of quite physical.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18It is hot, it's dusty and I guess you can't take anything for granted?
0:13:18 > 0:13:19No, that's right, yeah.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- Nearly there. - It's quite warm in the wind,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26but it's not unpleasant, you could work all day today.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30When it's 43 degrees at eight o'clock in the morning,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32you know you've got to be home by lunchtime otherwise
0:13:32 > 0:13:34your feet will start to burn through the soles of your boots.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36That's usually time to go home.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39We always say if we can work with the land, you're OK,
0:13:39 > 0:13:40but if you disrespect the country,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43it tends to teach you a lesson and puts you back in your place.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46We're only a speck on the whole landscape,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49so we get put in your spot pretty smartly.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Generally the rule of thumb is, if anybody asks you,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55"Do you think it's clean enough?"
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I say taste the water and if they say, "I can't drink that",
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I say, "Well, keep cleaning."
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- Happy with that?- I'd drink that. - Yeah, right-oh. It's very good.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06If I was a sheep, I'd drink that water.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- Good. - HE LAUGHS
0:14:11 > 0:14:16This land is in an endless cycle of drought, flash flood and wildfire.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19The last drought was the most severe for a century
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and lasted for ten years.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Thousands of farmers gave up in despair,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29and those that stuck with it saw their incomes more than halved.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33The stress proved too great for some.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Suicide in pastoral farming areas is not uncommon,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38where it just gets too much.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41A lot of these places have been four generations,
0:14:41 > 0:14:45and when you see people losing everything they've worked for
0:14:45 > 0:14:48in their life, and everything they believe in,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52it would be very depressing, I imagine, for a lot of people.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59Given these enormous challenges, what is it that keeps you here?
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Just tell me what it is that is so entrancing
0:15:02 > 0:15:05about this place and this way of life?
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I think it's just the open spaces.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12It's the freedom, I suppose, you're away from all the stuff in town.
0:15:12 > 0:15:13Nobody judges you out here.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16It wouldn't matter if you were an alcoholic,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20or you smoke a bit of mull, or you did this, or you did that,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22as long as you're honest and you work hard.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28People just accept you for who you are, generally, out in the bush.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34A big storm blows through in the night,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36soaking the land with much-needed rain.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Is this broken there, or is it right down?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47'One of the windmills has stopped pumping.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51'Without water, the sheep will only last a few days.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54'So Bob and one of his team get to work.'
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Ron's exceptionally handy with the mechanical side of it.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Much as he hates to admit it, he's good at it.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02I'm a little bit big to climb too high.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Oh, Ron.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Only maybe in a high wind.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Well, you can see where he's climbed up here, all the bent rails.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11LAUGHTER
0:16:25 > 0:16:27The more time I spend here,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30the more I'm growing to like Bob and the other guys.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I really respect their passion for this way of life.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36And I've nothing but admiration for the way they cope
0:16:36 > 0:16:40with working in such a remote place.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42They have to be able to do everything because I suppose
0:16:42 > 0:16:46you can't just phone a plumber or someone to fix a windmill and say,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49"Could you just nip out?", because there is no nipping, you know?
0:16:49 > 0:16:52They're 100 miles from the nearest anywhere and, you know,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55there's something I think sort of, as I say, very admirable
0:16:55 > 0:16:58about people who are that capable.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Who can know their livestock, and look after them,
0:17:02 > 0:17:07and produce great sheep, but also understand how the weather works,
0:17:07 > 0:17:12understand what to do with their land when it's flooding or when there's drought.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16But also just be able to fix an electric fence
0:17:16 > 0:17:19or re-put a battery in a car if it's gone flat.
0:17:19 > 0:17:25These are proper multi-taskers, and people say men can't multi-task,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28these ones can, and they're quite good at it.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32But despite all their resourcefulness, there's one problem
0:17:32 > 0:17:36that is threatening to overwhelm everything at Meka.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41A plague of feral dogs is savaging the flock.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46I just hate seeing our animals being decimated like that.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53It's generally just the younger dogs, one to three-year olds.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56They're like a fox on steroids, they just kill and eat anything.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01We've actually found a ewe weener with its liver removed,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04and it was obviously alive while it was happening,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06with the amount of blood that was on the ground.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09They'd pulled the liver out and eaten that and just left the sheep.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13How much stock do you think you lose through dogs?
0:18:13 > 0:18:17It could be up to 40% out of a paddy.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23I mean, 40%, that's got to be your profit margin plus, gone.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25And loss of production too.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Those ewe lambs that are gone won't have lambs,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30and the ewes that are gone won't make any more lambs.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32You've got to replace those ewes again,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34so it's not just a loss of your sale,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37it's the actual replacement of your sheep.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Bob is trying to fight back using a poison called 1080,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44which is derived from a native plant.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Indigenous wildlife has a natural immunity,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51but it is lethal to introduced species like these feral dogs.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59Nobody really enjoys killing things, I don't think. I don't anyway.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03It's only more for the protection of the animals.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05You feel a lot of anger and hatred towards the dogs
0:19:05 > 0:19:08when you see your sheep torn to shreds and still alive.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12But then you can feel a little bit for the dog,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14because it's not really his fault either, you know?
0:19:14 > 0:19:17It's just where we're at, I suppose. It's just life.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23And if you don't do it, what's the reality?
0:19:23 > 0:19:26If we don't get on top of this dog problem,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29in the next 12 months we'll be finished here.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Bob and his team throw out 35,000 poison baits a year
0:19:35 > 0:19:38but the dogs are still winning.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43It's estimated that feral dogs cause £45 million worth of damage
0:19:43 > 0:19:46to livestock a year in Australia.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48The numbers are just shocking.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50With losses on this scale,
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Meka will struggle to survive in the cut-throat global market.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59It's the morning of the big muster,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02a day I've been really looking forward to.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Bob needs to round up 1,000 sheep from one of his paddocks
0:20:06 > 0:20:09to get them ready for export.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14A plane will help us to spot them from the air. Bob briefs the team.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17OK, what's happening today, we're doing a paddy called Wargon Paddy.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21We'll probably fly about 10Ks to the east and there's a windmill there called Evans.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25We'll have the two Kerrys and Ron on the north side of the river
0:20:25 > 0:20:27and Trish and Cass, Neil on the south side of the river.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29That's where we'll start.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39It's sort of extraordinary that you need six bikes
0:20:39 > 0:20:41and an aeroplane just to gather sheep from one paddock,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43but when the paddock is ten kilometres long
0:20:43 > 0:20:45by four kilometres wide,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48that's why you need all this machinery and man power.
0:20:55 > 0:20:56Bob and I take to the air.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12We fly back and forth across the paddock,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16looking for mobs of sheep so we can direct the bikes to round them up.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34So before people had planes and motorbikes,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39how on earth did you start mustering sheep on land this size?
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Yeah, on horseback, they would spread out with quite a number of horses
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and work in the same direction we are, probably yelling
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and hawing or whatever just to get the sheep to move on down.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Unimaginable how it must have been done with horses.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58It must have taken months and months and months to cover this land.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03A constant team of people out on horses looking for sheep.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Riding the bikes through this terrain is a skilled and dangerous business.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15If you come off, it's a long way to the nearest casualty department.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20And there are stories of deadly snakes getting caught up in the wheels.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22For once, I feel safer in the air!
0:22:25 > 0:22:30We've done about four or five flights over the top end of the paddock.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35I've seen two kangaroos. No sheep yet.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Finally, I spot some of the flock.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Some here, Bob, just on the right, just below us.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Just off our right wing now, probably 200 or 300 metres.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58I may just need to swing it round to the left a little bit there.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00RADIO: 'All right.'
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Do you think they've got them all?
0:23:11 > 0:23:15I think we've pretty well got most of them now.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17You can see the homestead in the distance there, Kate,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19that's where we've got to go back to.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Yeah, it's quite a way.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26With the sheep gathered into one large group, the plane's job is done.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29The next stage happens on the ground.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38Now the plan is to move them back about a 10 kilometre run
0:23:38 > 0:23:42and the idea is just to persuade them slowly down the road
0:23:42 > 0:23:45to one of the paddocks right by the homestead.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00This is a pretty magnificent feeling, I have to say,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02being out in the Australian bush.
0:24:02 > 0:24:08It's got to be 35 degrees. Sheep, quad bike, dog,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11you're not going to get a happier girl than that!
0:24:29 > 0:24:32And there's something just lovely about being behind a herd of sheep.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35It's great, yeah. It is for us when you see all the lambs here.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38When you're bringing them in and there's no lambs, you know,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40like the dogs have killed them...
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Well, also because you see your sheep so rarely,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46it must be quite a good sight to know that they're out there.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Yeah, and producing good lambs. Yeah.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55It's a very well worked out system, this, and clearly this is a team
0:24:55 > 0:24:57that have been working together for a long time.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02They almost seem to work telepathically.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06So although everyone's got radios, everyone knows the sheep so well
0:25:06 > 0:25:09and reads them and knows exactly where to go when.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14But managing this sheer number of sheep takes an extraordinary expertise.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I'm in awe, really.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24The new Middle Eastern market for fat-tailed Damaras has offered
0:25:24 > 0:25:26stations like Meka a lifeline.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30But it's come with a catch live export.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35Buyers in the Middle East prefer to slaughter their own animals.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39So all these sheep will be sent live across the Indian Ocean
0:25:39 > 0:25:42in specially-designed ships.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44It's a controversial business.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Many people believe it's cruel and want it banned.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52There is no doubt, that 25, 30 years ago when this trade started,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54it was not conducted very well.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59The first ships that took sheep to the Middle East were very poor.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Water wasn't provided adequately, feed was spasmodic,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06there were problems with crowding and smothering of sheep,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09ventilation was inadequate, and so on.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11But what's happened is the Australian government
0:26:11 > 0:26:15recognised those problems, they introduced a shipping protocol
0:26:15 > 0:26:19and a whole new breed of vessels has come out.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21All the pens are a regulation size.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23There's a minimum size, there's a maximum size.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26The stock have water all the time through special feeders
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and they have pellet feed the whole time.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34And they have forced ventilation to all corners of the ship,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36so the whole situation's changed.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Where in those days they might have seen three,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and in some very bad cases up to 10% losses,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44today we're looking at 0.2, 0.3% losses.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48So do you feel comfortable about the business you're in?
0:26:48 > 0:26:52I feel comfortable about the shipping that we're going to.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56One of the problems that exists, and I don't know how you combat it,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00is that they do sell out to a domestic market
0:27:00 > 0:27:04where residents of major cities, Cairo or wherever,
0:27:04 > 0:27:09take sheep and they take them home for ceremonial purposes
0:27:09 > 0:27:12where they kill the sheep at home and barbecue them
0:27:12 > 0:27:16for the gathered family and they just don't do it very well.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18They're not sheep people.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21And the fact that some sheep get sold into that market,
0:27:21 > 0:27:22yes, I am concerned.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I mean, do the animal activists have a point,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29that there's surely better ways of supplying the Middle East
0:27:29 > 0:27:32with meat, sending them as carcasses?
0:27:32 > 0:27:36The market doesn't want carcasses, so that's not an option yet.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Will it take carcasses?
0:27:38 > 0:27:42We believe it will one day, but it doesn't take them today
0:27:42 > 0:27:46in the quantities of the meat that's going into that country.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51They prefer live meat over carcasses at this point in time.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55'The future of Meka may be uncertain, but Bob and Kerry
0:27:55 > 0:27:59'are determined to overcome the latest challenge to face
0:27:59 > 0:28:02'the sheep-herding business in Western Australia.'
0:28:02 > 0:28:05So do you feel relatively optimistic about the future,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10even though there are all the issues with the live meat trade?
0:28:10 > 0:28:11Yeah, I think so,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14if you think positive and just keep pushing forward,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17you know, one door closes and generally another one opens.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21But if you go negative, you tend to stall and flounder a bit.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Yeah, I know it's hard to stay optimistic in this industry,
0:28:25 > 0:28:26but, yeah, you've got to!
0:28:26 > 0:28:28THEY LAUGH
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Positive! The power of positive thinking.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39It's just kind of overwhelming and awe-inspiring at the same time
0:28:39 > 0:28:44just to handle this number of sheep in this size of land.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49One of life's moments really, where you sort of get a flash of insight
0:28:49 > 0:28:55into why people like Bob and Ron and Kerry just love this land so much.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58There is something just extraordinarily exhilarating
0:28:58 > 0:29:03about being out in all this space. And it feels so untamed,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06and yet there you are trying somehow to be part of it
0:29:06 > 0:29:10and it's really compelling.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15And you can see why Bob says he'll go sometimes to town
0:29:15 > 0:29:19and after four or five days he's just desperate to get back here.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24And I get that. I mean, it's hot, it's dusty, it's inhospitable,
0:29:24 > 0:29:29and this is an exhausting life and I've done five days of it,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Bob's done 40 years.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35But I can see why he loves it.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49As I drive back to Perth,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52I learn that live export is in the news again.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57NEWS REPORT: 'Australia's live export trade is facing yet another crisis
0:29:57 > 0:29:59'with thousands of sheep exported to the Middle East
0:29:59 > 0:30:03'apparently clubbed, stabbed and buried alive.'
0:30:03 > 0:30:07Footage of Australian sheep and cattle being inhumanely slaughtered
0:30:07 > 0:30:11in foreign abattoirs has been broadcast on Australian TV
0:30:11 > 0:30:14and the animal rights groups are renewing their calls
0:30:14 > 0:30:16for a complete ban.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19I want to find out more about this business for myself,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23so after days of phone calls, we've got permission to film at one of
0:30:23 > 0:30:29Western Australia's biggest live sheep exporters, Emanuel Exports.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Livestock manager Mike Curnick shows me where the sheep are kept
0:30:33 > 0:30:35before being shipped abroad.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39On a normal day we'd probably receive 25, 30,000 sheep.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Just the numbers here, that's the thing I can't get my head around.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45It's just the sheer numbers that everyone is dealing with.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48If the boats take 60 or 70,000 sheep.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51The idea is to get the sheep in here and acclimatize them to the boats
0:30:51 > 0:30:53and the pallets and the conditions onboard.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55There's a requirement that they've got to be here
0:30:55 > 0:30:57for six or seven days before they can be loaded.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59And it also gives us a chance to put them into their lines
0:30:59 > 0:31:03and their weights and their types and prepare them for travel, basically.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06'The sheep will be checked by a government vet
0:31:06 > 0:31:10'before making the two to three week journey to the Middle East.'
0:31:11 > 0:31:16To the uninitiated eye, this looks like a very crowded shed.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19It may look crowded, but to us it looks un-crowded.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Like here, they're quite content, there's a lot of room.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25If you actually walk through there, there'd be a lot of room in there.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27They're continually fed pellets,
0:31:27 > 0:31:29that's done automatically through these augers.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33So they've got feed and water 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38'I wasn't too sure what to expect here, but the sheep look relaxed
0:31:38 > 0:31:40'and well-treated.'
0:31:40 > 0:31:46There is a battle going on currently between the live export trade
0:31:46 > 0:31:49and local animal rights activists.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51What would you say to them?
0:31:51 > 0:31:54You're a livestock man, do you feel comfortable about what you do?
0:31:54 > 0:31:56I feel very comfortable about what I do.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59From time to time, things may not go according to plan,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01but that happens in human life and all walks of life.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Everybody's got their opinion.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06I think the more you know about it, the more you try and learn
0:32:06 > 0:32:08about it and understand it.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11And if you do have a different point of view, that's fine.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14But I think sometimes you've got to come up with some alternatives
0:32:14 > 0:32:18as well to solve the problems that you perceive are there.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21You know, nothing pleases us more than to see the sheep walk out
0:32:21 > 0:32:24of here in 100% healthy order and condition.
0:32:24 > 0:32:30'In 2012, Australia exported nearly 2.5 million live sheep
0:32:30 > 0:32:33'worth almost a quarter of billion pounds.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37'Farmers say it's become the backbone of the rural economy.'
0:32:37 > 0:32:39If something did happen to the live sheep trade,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42it would be the end of the sheep farming industry,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45particularly in Western Australia where we've got a small population
0:32:45 > 0:32:47and a high sheep population.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51But I think that while we continue to improve it,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54I think there's a chance it'll keep going for a long time.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03I'm in a bit of a quandary.
0:33:03 > 0:33:09My gut tells me that I would rather not see the live export of any animal.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14You know, in an ideal world, sheep, cattle would be dispatched
0:33:14 > 0:33:18in local, small abattoirs close to farms.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20But, you know, we don't live in an ideal world
0:33:20 > 0:33:24and it seems that in Australia that really isn't an option.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Maybe the answer is that if there is a market in places
0:33:28 > 0:33:33like the Middle East and other countries for live animals,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36it's better that they come from places like Australia
0:33:36 > 0:33:41where welfare standards are high, where regulations are tight and in place.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Because if they don't come from here,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46presumably they're going to look elsewhere to other countries
0:33:46 > 0:33:50who can produce live animals, but perhaps not with the same
0:33:50 > 0:33:54high standards that they produce in countries like Australia.
0:33:54 > 0:34:00If it were banned here, perhaps that would be doing a worse job
0:34:00 > 0:34:04for animal welfare than by not banning it.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06There doesn't seem to be any simple answer, really.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13The Middle East isn't the only place with a growing demand for sheep.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Across the developing world, rising standards of living
0:34:16 > 0:34:19mean more people are eating meat.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23What was once an occasional treat is becoming an everyday meal.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27And global population as a whole is growing fast.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29It's predicted that by 2050,
0:34:29 > 0:34:32there will be two billion more mouths to feed.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Australia, with its huge empty spaces,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39is well-placed to supply these new markets.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42But if it's going to keep pace with demand,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44it's going to have to innovate.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50I'm travelling to South Australia,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54the country's agricultural heartland, to a breeding centre
0:34:54 > 0:34:57120 miles south east of Adelaide.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01I'm going to meet a farmer who is pioneering genetic technology
0:35:01 > 0:35:05that could keep Australia at the vanguard of the sheep industry.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10I do feel slightly uncomfortable with this.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Like any of these sort of techniques,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18we tend to think of in a very negative way
0:35:18 > 0:35:21and I'm afraid I would join that camp.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25So I need to really keep an open mind because I don't know enough about them.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27I don't know enough about these techniques,
0:35:27 > 0:35:33I don't know really what the plus sides are, as well as the disadvantages.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38So it's going to be a kind of interesting, but I suspect quite challenging few days.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43'This is Andrew Michael.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46'He's on a mission to create a flock of super sheep.'
0:35:46 > 0:35:48So is it all happening in here?
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Yeah, it is, it's underway and going beautifully.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01It's an unnerving scene inside the shed.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04I've never seen sheep being handled like this before.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11This is a cutting-edge technique called embryo transfer.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15These sedated ewes are the pick of Andrew's flock.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Two weeks ago, they were given natural hormones
0:36:18 > 0:36:21to make them release multiple eggs.
0:36:21 > 0:36:27Then they were artificially inseminated with semen from Andrew's top rams.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30Now they're about to have their eggs removed.
0:36:35 > 0:36:40Those ewes will have thousands and thousands of eggs in their lifetime.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44What we're doing is just making one little period where we maximise
0:36:44 > 0:36:48the number of eggs released and we're actually fertilizing those at one time.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52So our best genetics, the best sheep available,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55could instead of giving us eight lambs, could give us 100 lambs.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57So, financially, that makes sense.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01Yes, and it gives us a bigger pool of genetics to select from.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04We do our breeding on a pyramid system.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08So we're trying to maximise the group of sheep at the top.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13So the more that we can advance our genetics, the more everyone wins.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15'In a neighbouring shed, semen is being collected
0:37:15 > 0:37:19'for the next round of artificial insemination.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22'Just like the alpaca I saw in Peru, an artificial vagina
0:37:22 > 0:37:27'will trick the male into thinking he's mating with a female.'
0:37:27 > 0:37:30So the semen will basically be collected in that glass receptacle?
0:37:30 > 0:37:35The ram will ejaculate into there and it will all fall down into that.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39OK, so the rams will come in, see four pretty girls,
0:37:39 > 0:37:41get a whiff of the right sort of pheromones...
0:37:41 > 0:37:42The right hormones and all that, yeah.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45"I know what my job is and I'm about to do it!"
0:37:45 > 0:37:46THEY LAUGH
0:37:46 > 0:37:49And then you'll just interrupt proceedings at the exact right moment.
0:37:49 > 0:37:50The exact right moment!
0:37:50 > 0:37:52OK, Helen, I'll let you get on with it.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55He obviously likes the look of those girls.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06He just can't decide which one!
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Maybe he doesn't like an audience.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15- That was it?- So he's ejaculated into that. Yes.- Really?
0:38:15 > 0:38:17Once he works, it's quite quick.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Suddenly all the men in my life are feeling really good about themselves!
0:38:20 > 0:38:22THEY LAUGH
0:38:23 > 0:38:26So you can see the ejaculation.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28He's given about a mil, about 0.8 of a mil there.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31So that's got to be kept in the temperature obviously
0:38:31 > 0:38:34and out of daylight. So that's him done.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37That's him done. There's not a lot of romance in it, is there?!
0:38:37 > 0:38:39No, not a lot of sweet talk.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46'Back with the ewes next door, veterinary surgeon Margie Trowbridge
0:38:46 > 0:38:50'is removing their eggs using a process known as flushing.'
0:38:52 > 0:38:54So this is the uterus coming out now?
0:38:54 > 0:38:57This is her uterus coming out. Two horns of the uterus.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01She's an adult ewe, she's lambed before, so it's a nice robust size.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04What we're going to do is push fluid from the top in down through there,
0:39:04 > 0:39:06through this catheter into a dish.
0:39:06 > 0:39:11So we now aim to put this specialised flushing solution...
0:39:11 > 0:39:16- So any eggs will come out with that solution into the Petri dish?- Yes.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20- So now I understand the term flushing.- Flushing, exactly.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22- It is literally that.- It is.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Is there any resistance to this sort of procedure,
0:39:27 > 0:39:29are there people that are against it?
0:39:29 > 0:39:31A lot of people don't understand it.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34I guess there'd be people who would think a ewe
0:39:34 > 0:39:36shouldn't be subjected to surgery.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40It is progress and you can't stop it.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45And I guess there would be some that would not approve of what we do,
0:39:45 > 0:39:49even collecting ram semen or inseminating ewes.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52They think it's unnatural and it shouldn't be done.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54But it's the human condition, isn't it?
0:39:54 > 0:39:57To keep progressing and survive.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01And the ewes, once they've had this procedure,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05can they then carry on with an entirely natural breeding life?
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Absolutely. Absolutely. These girls will...
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Andrew will probably join them again very soon,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14and they'll have a lamb within their normal breeding time.
0:40:14 > 0:40:19Probably within the same season as they would without having undergone this procedure.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23- So you're happy? That went well? - Yes, I'm happy.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27She's started to recover from her anaesthetic. Yeah, so she's good.
0:40:27 > 0:40:28- She's good?- She's good to go.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34So the eggs that have been flushed from that ewe
0:40:34 > 0:40:38into the Petri dish are now in this lab with Bill.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43So there's an embryo there that's fertilized.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45- Can I have a peep?- Yeah, sure.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Wow. That's extraordinary!
0:40:50 > 0:40:55So I am looking at the very, very, very early development of a lamb?
0:40:55 > 0:40:57Yes. That's right, that's a lamb.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59I'm just going to take it out.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04How many eggs is sort of the average that you might find
0:41:04 > 0:41:06that are fertilised?
0:41:06 > 0:41:08I think you'd say six or seven per ewe on average,
0:41:08 > 0:41:10but there's a great variation.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12You can see we've had a 16
0:41:12 > 0:41:16and we've had one ewe that gave us four unfertilized.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20So it's not a failsafe method. It won't work sometimes?
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Yeah. It's nature, you know. It's what happens.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28But, you know, with proper care and management
0:41:28 > 0:41:30and a bit of adjustment to programmes,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33you can get a cost-effective result for your client.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35But nature always has the last say.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46Next morning, at Andrew's farm, the fertilized eggs are implanted
0:41:46 > 0:41:50into surrogate mothers, genetically lower quality ewes that,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54in five months' time, will give birth to top quality lambs.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02Hup! Hup!
0:42:02 > 0:42:03Round you go.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Andrew has the conviction of a man who has seen the future.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11He's creating the ultimate, off-the-shelf designer sheep
0:42:11 > 0:42:14and revolutionizing the sheep-breeding industry.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20If we can identify a sheep in here that's got the genes
0:42:20 > 0:42:23that are going to be the best in the world,
0:42:23 > 0:42:29the difference that can make to the industry is just so important.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33For many years, Andrew has been measuring and recording
0:42:33 > 0:42:37the vital statistics of his sheep, creating a detailed database.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Which ones have the leanest meat, the healthiest fats,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43produce the best wool.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48Thing is, I can see the surface on this ram has got the right wool structures.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51If you run your finger on that, Kate, and feel how soft it is.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53- KATE GASPS - I'd wear that right now.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57That would do into a beautiful yarn for any sort of fabric.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02We could do knickers and bras in this, it's that good!
0:43:02 > 0:43:03KATE LAUGHS
0:43:03 > 0:43:05You can do the knitting!
0:43:05 > 0:43:09'DNA testing has moved things on significantly.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13'Andrew is now able to guarantee clients that by buying semen
0:43:13 > 0:43:15'or fertilized embryos from his animals,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19'they're getting exactly the genes needed to improve their flock.'
0:43:19 > 0:43:25All they need to be able to tell you everything, from how quickly
0:43:25 > 0:43:29the sheep might grow, what the wool might be that it produces,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32whether it's got omega-3s in the meat, its zinc levels, everything.
0:43:32 > 0:43:37- It'll tell us 51 different traits. - That's extraordinary.
0:43:37 > 0:43:38So from that blood,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41I'll be able to tell you how much fleece it will have
0:43:41 > 0:43:44and what micron it will be. Everything. Without even shearing it.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46God, it is cutting edge, isn't it?
0:43:46 > 0:43:52I mean, it has the potential to totally change the whole flock in Australia.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Yeah.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Using embryo transfer, this does seem to be a quick
0:43:57 > 0:44:01and effective way of producing sheep with the best meat and wool.
0:44:01 > 0:44:06Incredibly, Andrew's also breeding animals which have more efficient stomachs.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10Food conversion is the one untapped thing within our industry.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12Food conversion is basically the amount of food in,
0:44:12 > 0:44:13for the production of meat.
0:44:13 > 0:44:18The variations are as big as 22 kilograms of food in,
0:44:18 > 0:44:20to one kilogram of meat.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24The average is seven to nine kilograms but there's been animals
0:44:24 > 0:44:28tested down to 2.8 kilograms of food in for one kilogram of meat.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32So that has two advantages, one is that we produce a lot more meat,
0:44:32 > 0:44:36but we eat a lot less feed, so we can then utilise our pastures
0:44:36 > 0:44:38and our environment better but produce more meat.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40It's really the way of the future.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49Food conversion is the key challenge facing the global meat industry.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Compared to vegetable proteins, like soya and lentils,
0:44:52 > 0:44:56producing meat requires a huge amount of land, food,
0:44:56 > 0:45:00energy and water, all of which are already in short supply.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Get around, get right around.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11But if we can breed animals that use food more efficiently,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15then perhaps there is a more sustainable future for meat production.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20I wasn't sure what to expect from these last couple of days.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23I don't know whether it was going to be something that made me
0:45:23 > 0:45:27feel uncomfortable because, in my mind, animal husbandry should be
0:45:27 > 0:45:30something that's done as naturally as possible
0:45:30 > 0:45:34with really as little intervention as possible
0:45:34 > 0:45:37and actually what I've learnt is that what Andrew
0:45:37 > 0:45:42and breeders like him are doing is working with nature.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46They're speeding the process up
0:45:46 > 0:45:50by using things like artificial insemination and embryo transfer
0:45:50 > 0:45:54but the process is still natural, they're still looking at animals
0:45:54 > 0:45:57and saying that's a good one and if we put it
0:45:57 > 0:46:00with another good one, we're going to get good offspring
0:46:00 > 0:46:03and that's what I do and much smaller scale farmers do
0:46:03 > 0:46:06to ensure that we have better animals.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09They're just doing it in a way that's more scientific
0:46:09 > 0:46:10and more provable.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16It's really impressive and it does feel like
0:46:16 > 0:46:19if there is to be a future in farming and a future
0:46:19 > 0:46:22in food production that is going to be meaningful
0:46:22 > 0:46:24for the world population,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27this is the sort of thing that we have to think about
0:46:27 > 0:46:29adopting on a much bigger scale.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34This might just be the start of what we have to do
0:46:34 > 0:46:36to meet demand for food.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39Scientists are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in agriculture,
0:46:39 > 0:46:43and shaping the way we'll farm in the future.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47Using genetic modification, scientists are able to create
0:46:47 > 0:46:51new strains of plants and animals that will grow more quickly,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55produce more food, in tougher conditions, using fewer resources.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00It's up to us to decide whether we go down this path,
0:47:00 > 0:47:01or choose another way.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09My travels among herders are nearly over.
0:47:09 > 0:47:10But before I leave Australia,
0:47:10 > 0:47:13there's one last place I want to visit,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16a farm where they have a very different approach
0:47:16 > 0:47:17to the rearing of animals.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Hello, hi. Good morning.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23Hello, nice to meet you.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25Nice to meet you, I'm Kate.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27Nice to meet you, Kate, I'm Michelle.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29This is Phil and Michelle Lally.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32What a beautiful farm. Your garden is amazing.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36- Oh, thank you.- And it's a very beautiful part of Australia.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38Thank you, we love it here.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Their company, Savannah Lambs,
0:47:40 > 0:47:44works almost 2,000 acres of mixed farm in the Clare Valley
0:47:44 > 0:47:46and it regularly wins prizes
0:47:46 > 0:47:50for producing some of the finest meat in Australia.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52Phil trained as a winemaker
0:47:52 > 0:47:56and spent years travelling the world making fine Pinot Noirs,
0:47:56 > 0:48:00before returning home to take over the family farm.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04But he has an unusual approach to human-sheep interaction.
0:48:04 > 0:48:09If we walk gently towards them, you go two or three metres.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Then they'll probably think about turning around.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14One's turned here, you stick an arm out this way
0:48:14 > 0:48:16and the rest of them will turn around.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18They like their space,
0:48:18 > 0:48:20they also know that if you maintain that distance
0:48:20 > 0:48:23and we maintain that distance then everybody's happy.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27It's a nice quiet process and they're willing to oblige.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31It's making sure that that process of handling those animals
0:48:31 > 0:48:36is as stress free and as calm and as quiet as possible.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39We don't use motorbikes and we don't use dogs
0:48:39 > 0:48:43and we don't use any sort of electric prod or any way
0:48:43 > 0:48:46of moving an animal or forcing an animal at all.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49It's about providing them with an exit point
0:48:49 > 0:48:52and standing in the right place at the right time
0:48:52 > 0:48:56and when an animal feels comfortable it's not stressed.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59You seem, even at this very early stage of meeting you,
0:48:59 > 0:49:03to be a strange mix of thinking about trying to produce
0:49:03 > 0:49:07the very best product you can, but also if I may say it,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10being kind of slightly hippy dippy about things as well.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13Yeah, I guess now we've come to understand and realise
0:49:13 > 0:49:16that taking that hippy dippy approach
0:49:16 > 0:49:19is commercially a benefit for us
0:49:19 > 0:49:23and it's something we realised years ago that why not let the animals
0:49:23 > 0:49:26do what they want to do and work that into our system,
0:49:26 > 0:49:27rather than forcing.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32It was a big changing moment for us
0:49:32 > 0:49:34in the way we handle our animals.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38- A lot of hungry mouths to feed. - I know.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41When we have our normal 40 in here, it's so loud.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45Key to their philosophy is hand rearing lambs
0:49:45 > 0:49:49that have become separated from their mothers in the field,
0:49:49 > 0:49:53something that doesn't often happen on vast Australian farms.
0:49:53 > 0:49:58Touch and care and love and noises that their mums make,
0:49:58 > 0:49:59we make back to them.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03- Right.- So we've sat and observed the girls out in the paddock
0:50:03 > 0:50:07and they sort of do a bit of a "mmm mmm" noise
0:50:07 > 0:50:10and we do that with them and they instantly calm down.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13Sometimes they get born and mum might get scared or flighty
0:50:13 > 0:50:16and run off or they'll get separated and this little fellow
0:50:16 > 0:50:20might have been out there screaming his lungs out all night.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22So the first thing he wants is just a cuddle,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25because he's just a little kid really, he's just like a baby.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29And do you find it hard when you hand rear them,
0:50:29 > 0:50:32particularly in that very hands-on way
0:50:32 > 0:50:36that they find it difficult to integrate back into the flock,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38to effectively go and be a real sheep again?
0:50:38 > 0:50:40I think that these guys have got their own character
0:50:40 > 0:50:43because they've been allowed to be independent,
0:50:43 > 0:50:46so they haven't had mum explaining to them what they have to do.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48When they go out into the paddock with the others,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50they become born leaders.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52They help us teaching the other lambs,
0:50:52 > 0:50:56through what we call their sheep speak, that we're OK,
0:50:56 > 0:50:58we're not going to hurt them.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02Cuddling is important here.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06The Lallys are convinced that sheep respond to human contact,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08but there is sound business sense too.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15A happy lamb will give you a tenderer and more juicy product
0:51:15 > 0:51:19so we make sure that in their natural environments we look after them
0:51:19 > 0:51:25like we do and at the end of the day from a commercial point of view,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29the product's better, people get a better product.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31They might pay a little bit more
0:51:31 > 0:51:34but we're certainly not triple the price or anything like that.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Underpinning everything is good animal husbandry.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42They're not as hippy dippy as they might look.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44They buy in the very best stock,
0:51:44 > 0:51:49and have invested heavily in state-of-the-art farm infrastructure.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52Also, they take great care over what they feed their flock.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56At key stages in their development,
0:51:56 > 0:51:58these sheep are given a specially blended food
0:51:58 > 0:52:03that allows their stomach lining to develop a larger surface area.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07This creates highly efficient sheep that can convert food into meat
0:52:07 > 0:52:10and wool at an extraordinary rate.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12We look at it like an elite athlete,
0:52:12 > 0:52:14where to perform at the highest level
0:52:14 > 0:52:17you need to have the right intake, the right ingredients,
0:52:17 > 0:52:21the right food to sustain high energy.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24With a lamb and our sheep, they're ruminant animals,
0:52:24 > 0:52:26so they have four stomachs
0:52:26 > 0:52:30and they have the ability for those stomachs to be developed and become
0:52:30 > 0:52:34more efficient at food conversion which means when they get fed
0:52:34 > 0:52:38a kilo of food, rather than half of that food going out the back
0:52:38 > 0:52:42in the form of waste, we've now been able to get rates of absorption
0:52:42 > 0:52:46to around 90-95% into the animal's system
0:52:46 > 0:52:49which then increases their growth rates.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52They grow more wool and they mature at a younger age
0:52:52 > 0:52:53and grow a lot faster.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56We think sort of super sheep of the future.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05Every day, Phil spends some quality time communing with his flock.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Tell me about this sheep, that seems very friendly indeed.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Nudge was special, he was a premature lamb
0:53:13 > 0:53:16and was so small he couldn't reach mum to drink.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Normally in the past, he would have been left in the paddock to die,
0:53:19 > 0:53:23so we identified him early and picked him up and hand raised him
0:53:23 > 0:53:27and he's never ever forgotten that ability or that process
0:53:27 > 0:53:30of being hand fed from a young age where he would come up
0:53:30 > 0:53:32and nudge you to get a bottle.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35He is now the matriarch of our entire sheep flock.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37He's a leader and he's a character
0:53:37 > 0:53:39and he's a beautiful, beautiful animal
0:53:39 > 0:53:42that would have never survived unless we'd intervened.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45But now he's paid us back in kind year after year after year
0:53:45 > 0:53:48where when we have to move the lambs in to weigh them,
0:53:48 > 0:53:52which is just part of the process for selecting lambs to go to market
0:53:52 > 0:53:55and place that product, Nudge will walk to the gates
0:53:55 > 0:54:00and everything follows because he is the leader of the flock
0:54:00 > 0:54:03which looks up to him for directions.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05His contribution has been fantastic
0:54:05 > 0:54:09and we hope he's around for many more years yet.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12But the young lambs that we've been feeding today,
0:54:12 > 0:54:14are they the sort of Nudges of the future?
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Absolutely they are. Yeah, they are.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26I wasn't entirely sure how practical they were going to be.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30I did think that this might be a sort of slightly utopian style
0:54:30 > 0:54:34of farming that was lovely and it worked for them but that it wouldn't
0:54:34 > 0:54:40be something that could be kind of more widely commercially viable,
0:54:40 > 0:54:44but these guys are very practical. They have to make a living.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47They're doing a lot of things that other farmers do.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50They're choosing animals based on the right genetics,
0:54:50 > 0:54:53they're making very conscious decisions,
0:54:53 > 0:54:56but it's just very interesting that they're clearly getting
0:54:56 > 0:55:00extremely good results and therefore high prices for the product
0:55:00 > 0:55:02that they're producing,
0:55:02 > 0:55:08but managing them in a way that feels frankly kind of lovely.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15This looks absolutely fantastic.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20- Thank you.- OK, we need to eat this meat.- OK. I want to hear your....
0:55:20 > 0:55:22- My opinion.- Your opinion.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24Let's put it to the test.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31That really is delicious.
0:55:31 > 0:55:36So full of flavour, but has a really nice texture as well,
0:55:36 > 0:55:39sort of soft and it's delicious.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44The Lallys believe that their low-stress method produces
0:55:44 > 0:55:46more tender and tasty meat,
0:55:46 > 0:55:49and clients all over Australia are more than happy
0:55:49 > 0:55:51to pay a premium for it.
0:55:53 > 0:55:54As I leave Savannah Lamb,
0:55:54 > 0:55:59I feel a surge of optimism about the future of herding.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02While I don't think Phil and Michelle have the solution
0:56:02 > 0:56:06to the global food crisis, I do think they have something else.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10They're forging a great business by blending old and new,
0:56:10 > 0:56:14combining scientific research with good old-fashioned shepherding.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19And in a world where farmers are having to scale up just to get by,
0:56:19 > 0:56:23Phil and Michelle are staying small and focusing on quality,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25and that gives me hope for the future.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28It's been a long eye-opening journey
0:56:28 > 0:56:31from the mountain shepherds in Afghanistan
0:56:31 > 0:56:34to the huge-scale farms in Australia,
0:56:34 > 0:56:39and along the way I've felt both elated and enlightened
0:56:39 > 0:56:47and sometimes just failed to see that there can be any future at all
0:56:47 > 0:56:50for the ancient tradition of herding.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57In Afghanistan, I saw the origins of shepherding -
0:56:57 > 0:57:02proud people struggling to survive, utterly dependent on their animals,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05as their ancestors have been for thousands of years.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12The alpaca herders of the high Andes were at a crossroads,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15an ancient people entering the modern world,
0:57:15 > 0:57:19having to choose between tradition and progress.
0:57:21 > 0:57:27And the Australian shepherds, with their vast farms and hi tech methods,
0:57:27 > 0:57:29are the face of herding's future.
0:57:29 > 0:57:34With all the challenges of the next few decades, it feels inevitable
0:57:34 > 0:57:39that we will have to embrace new technologies and industrial farming,
0:57:39 > 0:57:42with all the ethical and moral dilemmas they bring.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44I suspect, like it or not,
0:57:44 > 0:57:48scientists will become the new farmers,
0:57:48 > 0:57:54but I hope that there may also be a place for a more traditional way
0:57:54 > 0:57:57of raising livestock and producing meat
0:57:57 > 0:58:01and I also hope that in our insatiable desire
0:58:01 > 0:58:03for plentiful, cheap food,
0:58:03 > 0:58:08we won't lose that ancient bond between animal and herder
0:58:08 > 0:58:11that has sustained the human race for over 10,000 years.
0:58:14 > 0:58:15By looking to our past,
0:58:15 > 0:58:19perhaps we can solve some of the problems of our future.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd