Kiwi redesigns lamb docking tool

Lamb docking might become much easier thanks to a tool that a young Kiwi has re-designed and for which she has won an award that could see her go onto international honours.

Nicole Austin, originally from Timaru, spent months on sheep farms as part of a research project while at Massey University School of Design to find out what tools could be improved upon for farmers.

She chose the lamb docking or tailing iron, noting farmers suffer from repetitive strain injury using the traditional tools available. The one most used in New Zealand and Australia was developed in the 1960s and 70s.

‘‘I’ve refined the tool to be 35 per cent lighter and to use 60 per cent less hand span than the docking iron currently used by New Zealand farmers,’’ Austin said.

She has called the new docking iron Moray, and hopes to bring it into commercial production within the next year. She estimates it will cost between $500-600, which is similar to the price for the dominant model in the market of $530.

Using piezoelectric igniting, Moray has a specialised doublechamber dampening shaft for reliable weather-proofing and consistent blade temperatures for clean cauterisation. Fluctuations in blade temperatures can cause considerable pain for the lambs, leading to ineffective cauterisation and infection.

Austin said although she was not brought up on a farm, in Timaru as a child she often visited them.

‘‘As a student I came to the conclusion that with the recent growth of the dairy industry, the sheep industry has been overshadowed. It’s conservative and lacks innovation.

‘‘After spending five months looking at sheep farms, I focused on the more physically demanding jobs such as castration, ear tagging and docking,’’ she said.

Now that the product prototype has been developed, Austin is hoping to develop Moray ‘‘with the right investment and product engineers’’.

The young designer, who works for Fisher & Paykel Appliances, won the New Zealand section of the international James Dyson Award for design engineers worth $3500. She now has a chance to win the grand prize of $50,000, while her university could win $8000.

The international winner, chosen from 23 competing countries, will be announced on October 26.