Confinement feeding as a stock management tool in good and bad times

On Thursday October 1st, 2026, a group of 20 or so mixed farmers gathered in the Treflé Shed at the Temora Agricultural Innovation Centre (TAIC) to discuss the role of confinement feeding in a mixed farming system.

The Confinement Feeding: Trigger Points & Planning workshop & Field Walk provided an opportunity for farmers to come together to discuss these important topics and benefit from the expert input of leaders in pasture management and confinement feeding.

The focus of the day was around pasture management, including discussion of trigger points for moving stock between pastures and confinement feeding, as well as management of stock when moving them between the two feed sources.

FarmLink life member and expert pasture agronomist Frank McRae (DLF Seeds) opened the program. Frank spoke about factors influencing the feed value of pastures, including digestibility. He stressed the importance of considering the regrowth phase of a pasture (as shown in the graph below) when returning stock to a pasture.

The group took a short walk to a lucerne pasture paddock at TAIC, for further discussion around estimating feed on offer and the nutritive value of pastures.

Nicole Logg (The Livestock Coach) led a lively discussion around nutrition principles and practices for a simple & successful feeding program.

This discussion covered diverse topics such as safe induction of stock onto grain-based rations; an overview of nutrients to support performance; feed quality, simple rations and feed budgets; when to remove stock from pasture and when to re-introduce them; through to infrastructure requirements and the broader farm business decisions involved.

Nicole stressed that confinement feeding should not be viewed only as a drought management tool. It may be used at any time to rest pastures and/or manage nutrition inputs to stock more closely. For example, ewes may be moved into confinement feeding leading up to joining, to ensure that they reach and maintain adequate condition score for joining and pregnancy.

Mark Skewes (FarmLink Research) led the group through an interactive session on decision making, using tools developed by the GRDC funded RiskWi$e program. The group undertook the RiskWi$e “Rules of Thumb” module, working through a series of questions about their use of rules of thumb to assist in pasture management decision making.

Each participant identified a rule of thumb that they use, and then answered questions about their use of that rule of thumb, such as: How much of your decision is based on the rule?; Where did the rule come from?; Why do you use the rule?; How often do you review the rule?; Is the rule more conservative (low risk) or more aggressive (higher risk for higher reward)?

Rules of thumb can be useful tools to streamline decision making, helping to avoid decision overload. However, it is important that rules of thumb are reviewed regularly to check that the rules are still appropriate and accurate for current circumstances.

Faith Rogers (Rural Adversity Mental Health Program) spoke about farmers’ mental health, in particular encouraging farmers to value and manage their own health as much as they value and manage other aspects of their farming operations. Faith encouraged farmers to see themselves as one of the key assets on their farms, and to recognise that if they break down the impact on the farming operation is far greater than any machinery breakdown.

RAMHP provides links to mental health resources for farmers via their website at https://www.ramhp.com.au/. There is also a map at this site where you can find your local RAMHP Coordinator.

After lunch Justin Dunn (The Shepherd Ag) took the group to inspect his innovative confinement infrastructure near Temora, and to learn about recent trial work and production outcomes at The Shepherd Ag.

Justin has developed his business around confinement feeding sheep for the whole reproductive period (pre-joining to weaning), as well as fattening the weaned lambs in confinement until they are sold for processing. Justin has developed a range of auto- feeding and monitoring hardware and software to assist his operations, which he now sells to other farmers.

The site visit was a great opportunity for the group to inspect Justin’s setup and see the auto-feeders in action. The visit prompted some very lively discussion about what is possible, and the advantages of confinement feeding as normal business, not just as a last resort in times of drought.

FarmLink would like to thank Nicole Logg for organising the workshop and sourcing funding through the Southern NSW Innovation Hub. We also thank Frank, Faith and Justin for contributing to what was an excellent day of sharing and learning.

This event was delivered as part of the GRDC RiskWi$e project and supported by the Southern NSW Innovation Hub, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.