The best of LambEx 2024

This week marked the return of LambEx, the world’s biggest sheep, lamb and wool forum, after a six-year hiatus. The three-day event, held in Adelaide from 7–9 August, drew a record-breaking crowd of more than 1,300 people from across Australia and overseas.

LambEx provided an opportunity for Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) to share the latest research and innovations with producers and other industry stakeholders.

As a major sponsor, MLA participated in the conference and was among the more than 80 exhibitors in the trade show.

MLA’s LambEx24 highlights

Sheep Sustainability Framework Annual Report

The 2024 Annual Report on the Sheep Sustainability Framework was released at a LambEx luncheon, revealing the broadest range of data to date.

Key figures included:

• Producers using carbon accounting or another process has risen by 6.9% since 2022, to 9.9%.
• Baseline data showed 72.6% of producers are undertaking deliberate activities to measure, maintain or enhance biodiversity.
• The percentage of wool declared as non-mulesed has increased to 18.6% for Merino (from 15.8%) and 47.1% for non-Merino (from 40.1%).

Access to labour in both sheep production and shearing remains a key challenge for the industry.

Read the full report here.

New lamb co-product compendium

LambEx attendees were the first to see the new lamb co-products compendium, showcasing the range of opportunities for sheep and lamb co-products.

With co-products like offal, bone and skins often accounting for over 50% of the sheep carcase, the export value of the co-products market was estimated at $113 million in 2022.

“Sheep and lamb co-products comprise a significant proportion of the returns from animal processing, and proper utilisation of co-products will generate greater value for each carcase through the supply chain,” MLA’s Group Manager for Science & Innovation Michael Lee said.

“The lamb co-products compendium highlights the potential for significant improvements to the current value of lamb co-products. We can now share that knowledge for industry to enter the co-products value adding sector,” Michael said.

View the latest Lamb co-products compendium here.

The relaunch of Making More from Sheep

The Making More from Sheep (MMFS) online resource, the one-stop shop for sheep producers, was relaunched this week, featuring updated information and tools to maximise sheep production.

MMFS offers resources, videos, apps, technologies, podcasts and factsheets on best practice husbandry and management.

MLA General Manager, Research, Development & Adoption, Dr Jane Weatherley, said that the MMFS relaunch comes at a timely moment in the Australian sheep industry.

“With the Australian sheep and wool industries facing a number of big changes in coming years, the relaunch of this program will help keep producers up to speed on the latest technologies and knowledge in order to keep producing happy and healthy sheep,” Dr Weatherley said.

Check out the MMFS resources here.

Sheep Genetics Flock Profile updated

Peta Bradley, Manager of Sheep Genetics (MLA) and Professor Daniel Brown, Principle Scientist Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (UNE) following the announcement of the updated Flock Profile.

The MLA Sheep Genetics team announced a suite of new updates to the popular Flock Profile, which Merino producers use to benchmark the genetic merit of their flock.

The new update includes the addition of new MERINOSELECT Indexes and additional traits of weaning rate and condition score.

“Developed by the leading research scientists at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) based at the University of New England (UNE), these updates will give sheep producers a much more thorough interpretation into how their flock fares against the broader industry for these important traits and indexes,” MLA Manager of Sheep Genetics Peta Bradley said.

Find out more about the updates here.

MLA on the ground

MLA maintained a strong presence throughout the three days, actively engaging in various roles, from presenting to hands-on activities.

During the Schoolies Hour of Power, MLA and Integrity Systems Company (ISC) staff hosted education sessions for more than 180 South Australian high school students, promoting the Australian sheep and lamb industry as a future career pathway.

The ‘Inspire. Advocate. Innovate.’ conference saw MLA Managing Director Michael Crowley presenting the essentials for the industry going forward.

The AMPC LambEx Feedlot Carcase competition was joined by MSA Program Manager David Packer, who delivered findings and industry comparisons from the competition results.

Alongside MLA staff guiding attendees through the latest programs and research, MLA’s Corporate Chef Sam Burke alongside Retail Corporate Butcher Doug Piper took to the exhibition stage, transforming trends into menus.