Head Shepherd
Mark Ferguson from neXtgen Agri brings you the latest in livestock, genetics, innovation and technology. We focus on sheep and beef farming in Australia and New Zealand and the people doing great things in those industries.
Head Shepherd
The Future of Sheep: Preview of Lambex 2024 with Jason Schulz
Are you heading to Lambex this year? If you’re not already going, you’ll want to be there after listening to this week's podcast! Our guest this week is Jason Schulz, chair of Lambex. After a six-year break, Lambex is back and better than ever.
For those not familiar with the event, Lambex is a three-day event that celebrates and promotes Australia’s sheep and lamb industry, with more than 1,200 people attending.
Speakers range from the likes Dr Tim Elliott talking about drench resistance, to Steve Wiedemann discussing carbon, to our own Dr Mark Ferguson discussing “The very real future of Artificial Intelligence”. Other speakers will address heat tolerance, ewe lamb joining, pain perception, and much, much more.
Jason discusses his role as chair of Lambex and highlights how events like Lambex provide an opportunity for everyone in the industry to come together and learn from one another. “I like to think that the producers that have attended Lambex in the past have really gone home and made a change from what they've heard … or they've met a … contact within the industry that they may not have had before, which could be enterprise-changing or give them the opportunity to learn,” says Jason.
If you are interested in attending Lambex, early bird tickets are available until 30 June. Accommodation options can be booked through the Lambex website here: https://www.lambex.org.au/register.
Head Shepherd is brought to you by neXtgen Agri International Limited. We help livestock farmers get the most out of the genetics they farm with. Get in touch with us if you would like to hear more about how we can help you do what you do best: info@nextgenagri.com.
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Welcome to Head Shepherd Jason Schills.
Speaker 2:G'day, Mark. Thanks for having me on here. I love listening to Head Shepherd, so really privileged to be here today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, fantastic, and the main reason we're having a yak is because of the opportunity of Lamex coming up in South Australia. But before we get into that, just be keen to have a quick yarn about your enterprise. There You've been producing first cross ewes for I don't't know as long as I've known you anyway. So that's, that's the core enterprise. Since you've sold the limousine stud, you're focusing on the on the sheep production yeah for sure.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, I guess in a nutshell, our core business is um producing first cross use. Both my wife, penny and myself, I guess, like to think that we specialise in producing first-cross ewes, trying to pair together the best of genetics, be that Merino and Border Leicester. Historically it's something that my family's done for 40-plus years. My grandfather used to produce first-cross ewes, so it has been a bread and butter for our family business. But a lot has changed over the course of time and obviously data is what now drives the production of our first-class ewes and the genetics that we make available to our clients.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you're farming there in well, south Australia. I can't even. I should be a native Asian, but I don't know my origins too well, but you'll be able to tell us where you live.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we farm in a, I guess, a district called Field, which is between Meningi and Kanaupin in the upper southeast of South Australia. It's not very far from the iconic Coorong for those that have watched Storm Boy as a kid. And because we're not far from the currung, we literally farm beach sand. So we grow dry land lucerne. Um, I always jokingly say we grow that hydroponically. Be that, you know, there's not a lot of uh guts in the soil but, um, you know, add moisture and and lucerne and uh, it seems to thrive excellent, so we'll get on to the main game.
Speaker 1:You're the chair of Lamex, and I'm sure it's been an interesting ride. Lamex was started a long time ago now. When was the first Lamex?
Speaker 2:That's what has really led me to be here today as chair, because it was exciting to be a part of, and nothing greater than being, you know, alongside a heap of progressive producers and hearing, you know, innovation and things to take which tookiannually shared between states, sheep, states, but there has been, I guess, a hiatus, due to COVID and the like, six years. So I guess my committee has been given the opportunity to reboot Lamex, kick it in the butt and get it going again For some, you know, for the younger generation, they may not really know what Lamex is all about. And then for the older generation, or those that have attended, like myself, it's about, you know, providing the next thing to, I guess, propel their business for the next decade.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think, yeah, I remember the first one in Perth. I'm pretty sure it was Dawson Bradford's baby back then and obviously the Esther Price has been a major part. Yeah, I remember the first one in Perth. I'm pretty sure it was Dawson Bradford's baby back then and obviously the Esther Price has been a major part of taking it around the country. And yeah, I remember the first one. I think we probably had 354 people in the room and it's grown since then.
Speaker 1:It now gets great crowds and is a real celebration of lamb industry. It's obviously we're just off the back of beef, where anyone who who's anyone in the beef industry has been up there. But it's obviously not the same scale as beef but it is, uh, that same opportunity to really celebrate our, our industry, which is what I love about it. We can go to plenty of field days and plenty of I guess we can watch lots of youtubes and listens a lot to podcasts on from speakers and interesting people. But it's that opportunity to actually get in the same room and really celebrate what's great about the industry.
Speaker 1:There's no shortage of things that that make the industry a little bit uh challenging at times, and and there's heaps of them we could, we could point out right now, but I guess it's an opportunity to really celebrate what's good and and bring together the whole supply chain, the whole value chain from from producer through to through to end user and and all the all the bits in between, in between, which is what I really enjoy about and I think, having been to I don't know a few three, four, five yeah, it's definitely a highlight of my career the Lamex that I've attended in terms of the sheep industry and been to lots of science conferences and, yeah, you don't get, it's just awesome. To have so many producers in the room and the people you catch up with is a good reunion and no shortage of brocker required, but it's always a good time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look, it's such a legacy and, as you said, it has built over time and probably good that you've identified that. You know it does have a likeness to Beef Australia and I guess I've been a part of Beef Australia myself. So, yeah, I think the difference with Lamex and Beef Australia is this is really focused and it's focused on the innovation and knowledge and upskilling and knowledge and upskilling and, yeah, I like to think that the producers that have attended LearMix in the past have really gone home and made practice change from what they've heard, their findings, or they've met a network or a contact within the industry that they may not have had before, which could be enterprise changing or give them the opportunity to learn from.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. So if we get into, I guess, being specifics about Adelaide, so it's start of August and, yeah, we've got Sheep Venture at the start of the week and ending the week with Lamex. So, anyone, there's plenty of opportunity to get to southern Australia and hit those two events. They're only, whatever, that is, five, six, seven-hour drive, is it? Yeah, haven't done that one for a while, but it's not a long way away anyway. And yeah, who are our key speakers? Who have we got that you're looking forward to listening to?
Speaker 2:Oh, where do I start? It's a pretty jam-packed program and I guess we can either just pick out speakers or I can just start from the start of the program. But I guess day one, being the welcome function, is, I guess a bit of a rapid-fire type tech sessions, agri-tech sessions, opportunity for people to, I guess, go and learn. I think they can select from several stages and then rotate around, so that will really get, I guess, the juices going. And obviously the welcome function is something to celebrate. Usually it's about celebrating the host state. So I guess in this case we'll be celebrating all things South Australia, but, you know, celebrating lamb, all at the same time, lamb and wool.
Speaker 2:But then we get into the nitty-gritty, being Thursday and Friday, which is the true conference, and I feel, from a committee point of view, there was quite a few moving parts that we wanted to achieve.
Speaker 2:So we really, I guess, opened the event with some big picture thinking, some, I guess, conversations about how we may be perceived globally and how you know we analytically, you know what does our markets look like globally. So with that, that big picture thinking is starting from Annalene. So Annalene is going to really explain what she sees from an outsider looking in. So when we tasked her up some months ago, she's actually started the ball rolling in, I guess, doing her research and investigations into the industry, or right from, I guess, um, the producer end, to the butcher shop door, to the supermarkets. She's been questioning people that are buying lamb why are they buying lamb? Really delving into, I guess, the psyche of the of of the consumer and also the complexities of our industry, because our industry is agile and there's lots of markets that we could sell into, but that in itself sometimes adds to the complexity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Elaine's a top-notch speaker. I heard her speak recently and she's a food scientist with Yahoo who's, as you say, will do a complete analysis. She doesn't have any particular bias or bent. She, she just calls it, she sees it and she's um, yeah, she's fantastic to hear her take on well when I represent and I'm sure it'd be awesome if she's done, she's bolstered what she knows of the industry by by looking right into the land ministry in aust in Australia. It's going to be really that's going to be something to really listen to and and lean into definitely so.
Speaker 2:that's probably that part, and then the analytical part, which I guess is really, I guess, assessing the industry of of from a data point of view and a factual point of view, um with global markets. That's coming from Brett Stewart and I guess the committee were really keen to get Brett Stewart along. He is based in the US but I think that's fantastic in the respect that he will be having an outsider look in His business is all about the analytics of protein and the red meat industry and many, I guess many potential delegates have probably heard from his colleague, Simon Quilty in the past and I know Simon Quilty when he's delivered at different events. It's always really engaging, really, I guess, data-focused and paints a picture of where you're at. So looking forward to Brett Stewart's Prezzo there and I guess he'll have a bit of an outsider look on it. Some comparisons to. You know some other countries as well, no doubt.
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure Part of the purpose of LAMEX has been to try and bring not just Australian delegates together but trying to get some internationals there as well to sort of celebrate the industry. I think there's always that cross-pollination of ideas and thought from different parts of our great industry is always amazing. So certainly anyone listening to this that's not close to Adelaide everyone's more than welcome. And in fact it's designed to be an international celebration of lamb, not just focus on the Australian industry, with obviously a bit of a South Australian bent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, and we actually have a subcommittee Mark that's, I guess, tasked at hopefully trying to get some international engagement. We know that we've got some international sheep producers, researchers, the like that are interested in lambics and I guess globally there's still a lot of potential growth for lamb and sheep meat as well as wool fibre. So I feel that lambics is a place to share information and we can learn a lot from each other, be that you know learning from LAMEX, but also learning from international delegates being at LAMEX or the internationals learning from the Australian delegates.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I guess part of LAMEX will be, I guess, getting people up to date on what the latest research is as well, that's normally part of it, so there'll be some local speakers covering some of those topics.
Speaker 2:For sure. So I guess we kick off on a few different parts. One, I guess, agenda that our committee had was to try and bring stuff that's new. So it has to be new and revel, revelating research. I guess some of the research is ongoing and it might be new findings. But you know we've got stuff around.
Speaker 2:I guess the dollar proposition in in mitigating heat, heat tolerance or you know heat uh stress in in sheep during joining and, and that's probably uh, comes about because a lot of us in southern Australia join over the summer period and unknowingly we probably don't know the rate of effect that has on conception rates.
Speaker 2:So there's been an ongoing trial through Adelaide Uni led by Will Dr Will that he's got some findings and a real dollar proposition on, I guess what that could mean for the producer findings and a real dollar proposition on, I guess what that could mean for the producer. We've also got yourself with AI technology and, I guess, facial recognition and I guess the sky's the limit there whether it's for record keeping. I personally am a bit excited at the potential of and you'll tell me whether this is possible but potential of parent verification and, you know, tracking animals and identifying progeny and working that back to the ewe, because we do a lot of measurements and I guess analyse our rams quite a bit our size but the ewe is, I guess, the missing link in many cases.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that definitely is the aim. So that's what? Yeah, no, that's what we'll be talking about, for sure, and that's what we've tasked ourselves with at James Smith, so we're looking forward to having that chat with producers.
Speaker 2:If it's not the aim, I've just set the challenge, Ferg, sorry.
Speaker 1:It's been there for a while, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and look, I don't really see that that will replace EID, but I think it's just the next next thing to, I guess, access more information, and you don't know what you don't measure. So commercially, at the commercial end, we're able to measure more info that can only be used for good yeah other little things.
Speaker 2:I guess. Um, you know, ulam joining's been quite prominent in recent years, particularly around flock growth and harnessing best genetics, but there's been some new guidelines placed around that so we've got some present, a presentation around guidelines to eulam joining, pain relief. So I guess that's the the scary one. But we have some research that will be coming to one of the breakfast sessions around pain relief and measuring pain sorry, pain, measuring pain, not pain relief, measuring pain in sheep and I guess that's a little scary from a producer point of view. But I think it's about, as producers and as an industry, getting on the front foot. You know, we're always, I guess, heavily scrutinised from our customers and those outside the industry. So if we can actually be proactive and, I guess, identify when you know welfare is an issue and mitigate that, I think that's again a good step forward for the industry. That's just a touching tip of the iceberg really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and obviously we'll put the links to the website so people can go and check out the program themselves and get themselves organized. Yeah, I think it's one of those things that might. I mean, people are going to get on the website and say that it's not a $100 conference, but I think they sort of. Yeah, I think, as we've talked about before on the podcast, it's sort of every now and again you do need to invest in professional development and it's an opportunity to to do that at at lamex. It's a good thing about. It's similar to, I guess, beef australia, where it's not every year. I think that's a good thing about lamex. You can kind of you're not having to to um hit it every year. It's if, if it gets back on its final cycle or every three or four years, then that's a that's a good thing, because you can kind of make that one hit, get there and make sure you make the most of it every couple of years or whatever.
Speaker 2:Definitely, and look. With that I mean in business, you know your best asset is the people, be that yourself or your staff. And Lamex is an opportunity. We've actually gathered the people and brought, you know, the speakers to one spot. It's quite a unique opportunity to have've actually gathered the people and brought the speakers to one spot. It's quite a unique opportunity to have access to all these people. We've got speakers from overseas, we've got amazing researchers, we've got, I guess, grassroots producers as well that have cut into new markets, be that the carbon market or be that in branded land. To have access to those speakers in one place is quite unique. And when you break it down over the three days the value proposition that Lamex puts forward for upskilling, I don't think you could find that anywhere else for the sheep industry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%, and that's always good to get to Adelaide. Hopefully we'll. Yeah, we've got memories of the casino from last Lamex. Hopefully we don't have to repeat some of those memories, memories of the casino from last Lamex. Hopefully we don't have to repeat some of those memories. But yeah, so it is a great place to be as well. It's obviously the city's rooted in agriculture, it's surrounded by ag and very much. Yeah, it's a good spot to celebrate the lamb industry and I'm sure it'll be a great event.
Speaker 2:And the venue really, kate. So Lamex this time around is going to be held at the LA industry and it'll be uh, I'm sure it'll be a great event and and the venue really so lamb exists. This time around is going to be held at the la convention center, which really caters itself to access to the city. It literally, you know, you can walk out onto north terrace and, and you know, straight to your accommodation or there's access to the casino mark if you want to go back there again.
Speaker 1:Um, we can't all go out.
Speaker 2:Or the footbridge on Friday night over the river to our late oval, which I know some delegates are already keen about attending a footy match that evening on the Friday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, excellent. I guess things like Lamex don't happen unless you get collaboration across the industry and I know it's been a fairly momentous job to get it back up, I suppose after it fell or COVID dropped it. But to get that momentum back it's been a big effort and obviously congratulations to you and your committee for doing that. There's been a fair few supporters who we probably should give a plug for their efforts in making sure it's going again.
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure. Yeah, we're really excited to have it back here in SA and obviously our committee is producer and industry led, most of our committee is producers and we also have some representatives from our sponsors as well. But, yeah, we wouldn't be able to hold this without. Well, first and foremost, federal government has obviously put forward some funding, not just for this Lamex but for the next ongoing Lamexes. I guess the approach with this was to make sure that Lamex was an ongoing affair, that the industry could utilise this into the future and benefit. So, yeah, there's been some DAF funding for that to make sure there's perpetuity and that funding is not dissimilar to the funding. I guess that supports Beef Australia and makes sure that that's always a viable option for beef producers to, you know, access the latest in innovation, technology, innovation, information. So, yeah, I've been very fortunate in that regard.
Speaker 2:We've also got the Sheep Industry Fund, which is quite unique to South Australia. That's come from a producer levy system, so South Australian producers pay levies when they sell a sheep industry fund levy when they sell livestock, be that sheep and mutton, et cetera, a lamb, and yeah, so that creates a sheep industry fund and the sheep industry fund put forward some money also to help, I guess, kickstart lamex and get it back on the agenda for our industry. And then we go into the sponsors. So we've got our major sponsors, two rather substantial processing sponsors in thomas foods international and jbs foods. So we really chuffed to have them on board and I guess that's important not only for the producer delegates but also Lamex is about the whole supply chain. So we're hoping that you know there's opportunity for butcher delegates, consumers, anyone in that meat packing processing business.
Speaker 2:Lamex is obviously an opportunity to attend and, as you said, celebrate industry. And then we've got Rabobank, who have come on board to make it possible that we have the gala dinner on the Thursday night, which is dubbed the Grand Slam playing on the word lamb, grand Slam dinner. So, yeah, really pleased to have all those guys. And then, lastly, auctions plus have come on board as the digital media sponsor and for those that are members or subscribers of auctions plus, you're probably already seeing stuff come through their newsletters etc, the e-newsletters. So it's been great to have them on board and, I guess, support an industry that supports them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, fantastic. So yeah, we've got early bird tickets for a little while yet, but we probably need to get on and get organised in the next little while to get that early bird price.
Speaker 2:Definitely so early birds till June 30th, so that's a pretty easy date to early bird price. Definitely so early birds, early birds till June 30th, so that's a pretty easy date to remember in the financial year. But yeah, we're really encouraging people to, I guess, jump on the early bird. There is savings to jump on early and get organised. And then obviously, through the website the Lamex website, you know, there's also opportunity to book your accommodation and so forth. Our committees access some, I guess, discounted rates for certain hotels close by. So I guess for those looking for, you know, options, that's a good place to start.
Speaker 1:Yeah, excellent, and if you're tight like me, you'll jump on Airbnb and you'll find a nice spot, close and handy as well, which we've already done. But yeah, no, really looking forward to those few days in Adelaide and, yeah, definitely recommend people get along. We've got a few of the people that are going to be speaking at Lamex coming up on the podcast so you'll hear a taster of some of them, which we'll have Adelaide on, which we'd already organised before. I'd even seen she was on the agenda and I stumbled across Will's work recently on the heat torrent stuff, which I think has got massive implications. So we'll give a taster for them. But obviously there's nothing like seeing it firsthand and with full presentation mode, like it would be at Lamex. But thanks very much for your time, jason, really appreciate it, and thanks very much for all the work you're doing and bringing the industry Lamex. It's a major undertaking and I'm sure there's plenty of you're already in an already busy schedule. I'm sure it's adding a bit of workload.
Speaker 2:Ah, yeah, it's really exciting to be a part of it, mark. So thank you for obviously giving me the opportunity to talk about Lamex. For those that aren't, I guess, aware of what Lamex is about, really excited, I guess aware of what Lamex is about Really excited, I guess, for the industry to come together and celebrate what we have, and also an opportunity for the industry to learn from each other and, I guess, set ourselves up for the next decade. It's quite an exciting industry, the Australian sheep and wool industry, and I'm quite passionate about it and I'm really excited to know that Lamex is going to be here in a few months' time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, excellent no.
