June 23, 2010
Two new additions to the LambEx program
The organisers of the inaugural LambEx – a two-day conference designed to bring all elements of the Australian sheep and lamb industry together – have announced the inclusion of two WA sheep producers on the program.
Don Nairn from East Binnu and Simon Fowler from Chilwell at Esperance will join Wiltshire Horn breeder Annie Hughes from Broken Hill and Queensland-based sheep lot feeder Kerry Corish on an interview panel at end of the first day of conference.
The two West Australian sheep stories from Binnu and Esperance have been chosen to provide a unique look inside two well-oiled sheep operations, whose owners have a different perspective to sheep management and have applied different pressures to their farming system in order to optimise their sheep returns.
According to LambEx chairman Dawson Bradford the LambEx committee had been intent on identifying ‘interesting people whose approach to sheep management were not widely known’ and the final interview panel would combine to provide a fascination discussion led by conference MC Gerry Gannon.
“Simon Fowler heads up the sheep side of his family’s operation and is responsible for the management of more than 20,000 Merino ewes, which run alongside 1700 breeders and a large cropping program. Simon’s approach to sheep management is driven predominantly by the cost and management of the feeding system, which he is pushing hard to head towards 20DSE,” Dawson said.
“Don Nairn from Binnu has a similar approach to profit via alternative feeding systems – and he stands out in his farming district, being surrounded by 100 per cent croppers. Don is able to demonstrate a very viable approach to sheep management, even in an area that is traditionally considered at risk of erosion when put to sheep.”
The LambEx committee’s vision is that the “Parkinson-style” interview segment on the final session of the first day will provide great contrast to the balance of the program. “We are wanting to use these interviews to get inside the minds of some of the country’s most innovative sheep producers – in a format that we know the audience will engage with,” Dawson said.
The wide-ranging LambEx program features a broad collection of speakers from the farming, processing, retailing and research communities and will culminate with a finale from Australia’s most acclaimed lamb ambassador, Sam Kekovich.
The program and registration form is now available from www.lambex.com.au or by calling conference organisers Esther Price Promotions on 08 9525 9222.
June 18, 2010
LambEx committee extends invitations to the rest of Australia to host LambEx 2012
The initiators of LambEx – the two-day sheep and lamb all-of-industry conference and trade show to be held in Perth in August – are calling for expressions of interest from other states to host the 2012 event.
According to LambEx chair Dawson Bradford, the vision of the inaugural LambEx committee was always to ‘hand it over’ to another state to continue the messages and morale achieved through the creation of the founding conference.
“We are very keen to hand the mantle on for a 2012 event as part of the closing segment at LambEx on August 6th and so the hunt is on to find another state who might consider this privilege,” Mr Bradford said.
“I know I can speak for my entire committee when I say that the process of convening this event has, to date, been immensely rewarding. The challenge of developing this speaking program has had us in touch with sheep industry personnel the world-over and it is in the interests of our industry to continue this event and let other states build the ownership.”
Mr Bradford said that a natural extension of the hand-over was also the responsibility of building on the sheep and lamb industry honour roll that will be unveiled by Minister for Agriculture Terry Redman during the Norvartis Grands-Lamb dinner at LambEx.
“For some time our committee wrestled with the desire to hand out awards of excellence to recognise industry greats – but it was evident that there are literally, too many champions to be restricted to just a handful of awards.
“Our solution has been to create an honour roll for the sheep and lamb industry – the first edition of which will be announced at the gala dinner. It is our vision that the successor to LambEx will add to that honour roll – and naturally, add a number of champions from their home state to this roll.”
Those seeking more information about hosting LambEx 2012 should visit www.lambex.com.au or contact event managers Esther Price Promotions on 08 9525 9222 or esther@estherprice.com.au
13/5/2010
LambEx and Novartis announce partnership
Animal Health company Novartis has confirmed its support of the inaugural national industry event LambEx in a deal that will culminate in Novartis hosting the event’s gala dinner, which will be known as the Novartis Grands-Lamb Dinner.
LambEx takes place at Burswood from August 4-6 and according to event chair and Narrogin lamb producer Dawson Bradford, the Novartis partnership typifies the response that the event is extracting.
“Novartis has worked hand in hand with industry to address one of our greatest animal health issues – that of worms and drench resistance.” Mr Bradford said.
“The whole focus of LambEx is about creating and forging partnerships and communication – joining all sectors with a connection to lamb – and that starts with the farmer but includes researchers and service providers like Novartis.
“But significantly, we want delegates to LambEx to go home having heard and seen things about the lamb industry they’ve not seen before – and the opportunity for Novartis to be involved will deliver that.”
LambEx, which was launched by the WA Minister for Agriculture Terry Redman in January, is a collaboration between industry, government, processors, universities and Meat & Livestock Australia.
A highlight of the Novartis Grands-Lamb dinner will be the unveiling of the Australian Sheep and Lamb Industry Roll of Honour – a LambEx initiative designed to recognise the many contributors to the industry.
“The LambEx committee originally intended to present an industry award recognising outstanding service, but in the spirit of LambEx, we were unanimous in our opinion that it is in fact a collaboration of many outstanding individuals who have taken the industry to what it is today,” Mr Bradford said.
“With that has come our decision to invite nominations from industry, in order for us to collate an extensive roll of honour that will acknowledge the many people who have made a contribution to the success of the sheep industry.”
The whole of industry is encouraged to participate by nominating a person or people whom they believe have made a contribution to the industry to take it to where it is today.
“This entire roll will be revealed at LambEx – and our intention is for another state to host LambEx in two years time – and grow the roll further by adding their own collection of names,” Mr Bradford said.
The nomination process for the LambEx Roll of Honour can be done via the Lambex website on www.lambex.com.au; through the conference registration form (available June 1) or by emailing conference organisers Esther Price Promotions.
The guidelines for the process are simple and nominees are asked to nominate a person or people who they believe have ‘made a difference’ to the way we breed, feed, manage or market Australian sheep and lamb. Leadership, innovation and dedication are factors of consideration.
Emailed nominations should be sent to esther@estherprice.com.au
With the Roll of Honour to be officially launched during the Novartis Grands-Lamb dinner at LAmbex, head of Novartis marketing and technical services, Jeremy Cocks has congratulated LambEx organisers for the initiative.
“Novartis is delighted to have the opportunity to take such a high profile role at the inaugural LambEx event,” Mr Cocks said.
More information Esther Price
esther@estherprice.com.au
Tel: 08 9525 9222
13/4/2010
Federal Government awards LambEx grant
The Australian Government has this month awarded up to $100,000 in funding towards the inaugural LambEx event, which will take place in from August 4-6. LambEx is a collaboration between industry, processors, live exporters, researchers, state and now federal government and according to event chair Dawson Bradford, it will play a pivotal role in addressing the business case for sheep and lamb and in doing, shore up continuity of supply.
“The whole focus of LambEx is about creating and forging partnerships and communication – joining all sectors with a connection to lamb – and having this federal government support from its Promoting Australian Produce Major Events program, allows us to take the event to a whole new dimension,” Mr Bradford said. “The organising committee’s vision is to bring together every sector that has capacity to influence the long-term viability of the Australian lamb industry – and in the process do everything possible to showcase the professionalism and opportunity that exists in this industry.” Mr Bradford said the Federal support would enable delegate pricing to be extremely affordable.
A key part of our success of LambEx is the ability to gather sheep producers, processors and exporters together en masse and due to this significant investment, we can now offer this event at a very affordable rate – which was always our goal.
19/1/2010
Major Lamb Industry Event Annouced
A collaboration between industry, government, processors, universities and Meat & Livestock Australia was brought to fruition today (Tuesday, January 19), with the ministerial launch of LambEx 2010 – a national lamb industry event to drive the future profitability of the industry. WA Minister for Agriculture & Food, Forestry Terry Redman joined senior representatives of the lamb, processing and live export sectors to inspire confidence in the future of the Australian lamb industry via a large scale industry showcase at Burswood from August 4-6 this year.The Ministerial support of the initiative was been welcomed by LambEx chair and project initiator Dawson Bradford, of Hillcroft Farms, Narrogin. “Our vision for LambEx is that it must bring together every sector that has capacity to influence the long-term viability of the Australian lamb industry – a successful industry that is at risk unless there is a united approach,” Mr Bradford said.“LambEx is all about bringing people together – including sectors that have not necessarily in the past been that collaborative – and linking them in an inspiring and thought-provoking event.” Mr Bradford said that a key target for LambEx will be to attract producers, who for various reasons have exited the sheep industry, and woo them back. “We need to re-instate confidence in sheep and lamb production. All sectors of the chain need to be profitable and to achieve that in today’s market we need collaboration and motivation.” Central to the creation of the LambEx 2010 is the support of Meat & Livestock Australia.
According to MLA Director and LambEx steering committee representative Peter Trefort, MLA is proud to be a major sponsor of LambEx 2010 to inform and motivate sheep and lamb producers to drive the future success of the industry. “Right at the very core of a viable lamb industry is our ability to deliver a product the world needs, but also in our ability to continually improve our farm production systems so that we can optimise our returns,” Mr Trefort said. “I urge all primary producers – those in the industry as well as others looking to get back in – to make the most of this opportunity to gain valuable insights and information to meet their individual business goals and contribute to a secure future for the whole sheep industry.” The LambEx program will comprise a two-day conference, a ‘Grands-Lamb’ dinner and a comprehensive trade show – all of which will take place at the Burswood Entertainment Complex.
Mr Bradford said that the intention is that another state should carry the mantle of LambEx in 2012 and build on the profile and opportunity the inaugural event will create. “This will be a truly national event – the content of the program aims to be highly educational and challenging. We want our delegates to go home having heard and met people whose ideas are new and different, and to be motivated to do something in their business as it relates to the production of sheep.”
It is anticipated that the program will be released in early April, while trade exhibition booths and sponsorship positions are now available for purchase. LambEx 2010 is managed by Esther Price Promotions (EPP). For all inquiries, please contact the EPP office on +61 8 9525 9222 or email Esther Price esther@estherprice.com.au
28/9/2009
Lambex Gains Industry Support
MLA confirms major support of LambEx Meat and Livestock Australia has announced its significant support of LambEx.
