AgTalk Episode 17 - Communication and Science - The keys to successful farming with Jason Trompf

It is my pleasure today to introduce to you Jason Trompf. Jason is the inaugural winner of the Marcus Oldham Flock Leader award, part of the Lambition awards that were kick of this year

Jason grew up on sheep properties and developed from an early age a passion of the Sheep Industry. I first ran into Jason many years ago when he was completing his PhD. What stuck out for me about that PhD and I believe has underpinned Jason journey to date has been around the issue of communication and the uptake of science in a practical setting.

One of Jason’s key abilities is to take science and make it understandable and usable for everyday farmers. To me this is such an important skill that we need to encourage if the industry is going to continue to move forward.

Jason has been a major driver in the sheep industry extension program having made a significant contribution to Life Time Ewe Management Course (Which I rate as one of the best course I have ever done) Bred Well Fed Well and now the founder of the Lambs Alive program whose core aim is lift production rates resulting in more profit and better welfare outcomes for the animals and the farmer. It brings together a large group of like-minded farmers who are keen to impact their lot in life by producing more from less.

Along with his wife Penny and her parents, He now manages a significant livestock enterprise near Glenrowan in north east Victoria, with 3000 ewes and 250 cows. This self-replacing high productivity operation provides him with a great practical background and a constant reality check with the challenges that all producers are facing on a day to day basis. A key focus for the last 10 years or more has been to improve lamb survival, with the flock now achieving 90% survival rates of fetuses scanned.