The world’s largest ever sheep, lamb and wool forum, kicked off on Wednesday, drawing a record delegation of 1,300 plus people for the three-day event in Adelaide.
The previous record of 1,005 was set at the 2018 event – the last time LambEx was held.
LambEx encompasses the entire supply chain from producers to processors, exporters, researchers and service providers, and is returning after a six-year hiatus.
“To attract more than 1,300 industry members to attend LambEx 2024 is outstanding and we are really excited about the week ahead,” LambEx 2024 Chair and South Australian producer, Jason Schulz, said.
“In particular, most pleasing is representation from across the country and from international counterparts with delegates from New Zealand, USA, Canada, England and Scotland.
“There has been a fair amount of heat on the Australian sheep industry of late from live export discussion and market volatility through to environmental and climatic factors in an almost perfect storm of events, so LambEx comes at a really timely moment for the industry to reset, celebrate its achievements and pave a progressive future direction.”
South Australian Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven was pleased to welcome the event back to Adelaide.
“It provides the opportunity to showcase everything South Australia’s sheep, lamb and wool industries have to offer to delegates not just from around Australia, but across the globe as well,” she said.
“South Australia’s sheep industries make a crucial contribution to the state’s economy, generating 1.5 billion in revenue and supporting thousands of jobs in our regions and through the supply chains.”
Dr Dana Campbell shared where the research is up to for virtual fencing for sheep.
The event kicked off on Wednesday with the Schoolies Hour of Power, the opening of the trade show, and a series of LambEx Tech Talks, including a presentation by CSIRO researchers that covered virtual fencing in sheep.
Before the presentation Dr Dana Campbell told APlus News research by CSIRO has shown sheep can respond to cues from virtual fencing - including noises and electric shocks - in a similar way to cattle.
However, the use of the technology faces additional hurdles because of wool protecting sheep from feeling electric shocks and the bulk of the devices needed to implement the technology on the much smaller animals.
"We think maybe the best system to target would be the shedding sheep,” Dr Campbell said.
There's also being research done on if the sounds and shocks could be delivered via an ear tag.
"They do show the correct behaviour of stopping and turning around,” she said.
Virtual fencing is currently not legal in all states of Australia and the cattle tech is not widely rolled out – with sheep solutions a long way behind that.
The LambEx Coles Trailblazer event also kicked off on Wednesday, with the competition designed to showcase innovators ages 16-30 with an idea or concept to advance Australia's sheep, lamb and wool industry.
Auctions Plus’ weather expert Jane Bunn, was one of the judges, and praised the impressive work of all entrants.
One of those trailblazers was Dr Edward Kerr, 30, a postdoctoral research fellow at CSIRO in Brisbane who is developing a vaccine for fly strike.
Dr Kerr said the vaccine, which he estimated could be available to commercial farmers in about seven years, provided a solution to fly strike which currently costs the industry $320 million a year due to control measures and loss of production.
"Fly Strike is generally caused by areas of wounds on sheep or around fecal matter around their rear end. And then flies are attracted to the breakdown of that bacteria. And they lay their eggs larvae and those larvae are physically feeding on the sheep.
“Fly strike is that larvae feeding and our goal is to get to vaccinate against the larvae. So that would be taking a key component from the larvae's gut …we vaccinate the sheep with the same compounds and it recognises that so when the real issue comes, being the larvae, it can then remember to target that same protein that's in the larvae and essentially inhibits its growth.”
He said it was a standard protein vaccine and did not involve MRNA technology.
"We've spoken to several pharmaceutical companies, and they're really interested in it,” Dr Kerr said.
“The biggest issue we have is it's a really big issue in Australia, but outside of Australia flystrike is not a huge issue. So it's really hard to get investment at this kind of stage of the project, but we're still developing it.”
Dr Kerr praised all the Trailblazor competitors, saying some of the younger applicants were particularly impressive.
“I think it's just amazing. How much care and passion they have,” he said.
“I was sitting there going, I don't think I have this kind of passionate at that age.”
On Wednesday evening the three finalists from the LambEx Coles Trailblazer competition will be announced and a LambEx Welcome Function will be hosted by PIRSA.
Thursday’s event will start with a LambEx Fat Farmers River Run at from 6:15am along Adelaide’s River Torrens.
The conference continues on Thursday with industry experts covering issues from across the sheep, lamb and wool supply chain, before the LambEx Grandslamb Dinner, hosted by Rabobank, in the evening. The conference wraps up on Friday.
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